Wishing for a Miracle
by RubyPearl
Summary: Being this close to James Lily realized how good he smelled: Like body soap and shaving cream. Unlike most boys his age, who usually drowned themselves in cologne, James didn't appear to have on even a drop. One thing was certain: His scent was intoxicati
1. Chapter 1

-1  
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter, any characters you notice aren't mine, ones you don't notice are mine.

Chapter 1

Lily Evans climbed the steps to the boys' dorm. Reaching the seventh year dorms, she walked to the third door on her right, on which she knocked lightly. A boy with dark hair that fell into his eyes with elegance opened the door.

"Hello, Ms. Evans. How may I help you?" he asked, putting on a smile that would make most girls melt.

"Hi, Black," Lily replied, not returning any of the enthusiasm to see him. "Is Potter around?"

"Yeah, he's here. Come in," the boy said, standing aside.

Lily stepped into the room.

It was overt that the dorm belonged to boys: Clothes littered the floor, along with books and other items; only one of the five beds was made; and Quidditch posters covered the otherwise blank walls. Two other boys were also in the room: A sandy haired, pale looking boy was putting his books in his bag, while a chubby, mousy haired boy frantically tried to finish his homework.

"Hi, Lily," said the sandy haired boy.

"Hi, Remus," Lily replied.

"I'll get James for you," said Black, walking over to a door. "Prongs, Lily's here to see you."

"Okay, I'll be right out," replied a voice on the other side.

"Sirius, how many times have I asked you not to leave your pants lying on the floor?"

"Sorry, Moony."

Lily had always wondered what was with their nicknames. When she asked Remus about it one year while they were Prefects together, he only told her it was something they just came up with. "We're the Marauders, we figured we needed nicknames," he had said. However, Lily got the feeling there was something more to it, but she never pressed the issue. Lily was unable to ponder more about this for the bathroom door opened. A boy wearing trousers but no shirt came out, running a towel through his jet-black hair. The boy was built from playing Quidditch and glasses framed his hazel eyes.

"Hey, Lily."

Lily did not return the greeting. "I just came by to tell you that we have to be at a Prefects' meeting after breakfast," she said before turning to leave the room.

"Thanks, Lily, I-" James began, but she was already gone. "-really appreciate it," he finished to himself, sulking over to his bed. "I don't understand her," he sighed. "I mean, breakfast is in two minutes, yet she comes up here to tell me about the meeting. She doesn't even speak to me in public. Even at the meetings, she only talks to me to discuss ideas, and she leaves right after it's over, so I can't talk to her then. I changed over the summer, but how am I supposed to show her that when she won't even give me the time of day?"

Remus stepped forward.

"James, you have changed a lot, and eventually, Lily will see that; you just have to give her time and keep up with your responsibilities. We've only been back at Hogwarts for three weeks, and she's probably still in shock that you made Head Boy. She'll come around; it just might take a while. You can't really blame her though; you two haven't exactly had the best history." 

"That's an understatement," James snorted. He stood from the bed, sighing. "Well, we better get down to breakfast."

Lily walked back to her own dorm to gather her books. Immediately upon entering the room, she was greeted with a question from her best friend, Faith Mendel.

"Lily, have you seen my blue hair scrunchie?" Faith asked, rummaging through her trunk frantically.

Lily looked over at Faith and noticed a baby blue scrunchie on her wrist.

"Uh, Fay," she said, using her friends' nickname, causing her to look up.

Lily glanced back over to the hair tie. Faith followed her gaze and laughed.

"I hate when I do that," she said, pulling her dishwater blond hair into a ponytail.

Lily and Faith heard someone snicker and looked over to discover that two of their roommates had seen the whole thing.

"Any dumber and she'd be a doorknob," one of them sneered.

"Being a blond must really get to her," the other chimed as they walked to the door.

"Then what's your excuse, Johnson?" asked a voice.

All four girls looked over to see their fifth roommate, a black haired girl, walking out of the bathroom.

The girl's response was a huff as she left with her friend.

"I hate those two."

"Me too, Carmen, me too," Lily agreed before turning to her friend. "Don't let them get you down, Fay."

"Don't worry," Faith said. "I know I'm a klutz; I'd loose my head if it wasn't attached," she laughed, grabbing her bag. "Well, let's get down to breakfast. I'm starving."

Lily and Carmen gathered their things, and the three girls walked out of the dorm. When they reached the Common Room, they quickly noticed a small group of people gathered around the couch. Many were cheering and some gave out catcalls.

"I wonder what's going on," said Faith.

The three girls looked over at the couch. One of their roommates was straddling a boy, and they were engaged in some pretty heavy snogging.

"Gross, ever heard of a room?" Faith asked as Lily walked over to the couch.

"Hem, hem." Her cough caused the couple to look up. "I'm sure you two wouldn't mind continuing this somewhere else, like say in detention. Tonight."

"Excuse me?" asked the girl, flipping her dark brown hair.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Robyn, maybe I should clarify myself so your simple mind can understand: You two have detention tonight as seven o'clock for inappropriate display of affection, A.K.A snogging in public and causing a scene."

Robyn got off the couch, grabbing her boyfriend by the hand, scowling at Lily as she brushed past.

"She's such a bitch." Lily heard Robyn say on the way to the portrait.

"You just earned yourself another detention, Smith," Lily called to her.

She turned back to the group of people who were standing around. "Okay, show's over."

As everyone walked away, Lily went back over to Faith. Carmen had already left the Common Room.

"Have I ever told you how happy I am you're Head Girl?" asked Faith.

Lily laughed as she turned to leave the room with her friend.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to yourlastregret and iluvreading for replying

Chapter 2

On Thursday morning, Faith walked out of the bathroom to discover that Lily was still in bed. This was not like Lily at all; she was usually up before anyone else.

"Lily, are you going to get up?" Faith asked.

"I don't feel good," Lily grumbled.

She didn't look too well either: Her face was pale, and she seemed to be shivering beneath the covers. Carmen, who was closest to Lily, walked over to her bed, pressing her palm to Lily's forehead.

"She's burning up," Carmen said. "Do you think we should take her to the hospital wing?"

"I don't know, "Faith shrugged. "I mean, sometimes she gets real high fevers, but she usually sleeps them off." Faith walked over to the bed and stood beside Carmen. "Lily, does your stomach hurt? Do you have a headache? Anything like that?"

Lily only shook her head.

"Yeah, it's probably just a fever." Faith said, before turning back to Lily. "You stay here and rest. I'll come check on you at lunch, okay?"

Lily nodded as Faith tucked the covers around her, making sure she was nice and snug.

Faith and Carmen finished getting ready and left the dorm fifteen minutes later. Down in the Great Hall, they found Carmen's boyfriend, Kevin, and sat next to him. Faith had began piling eggs onto her plate whilst talking to Carmen about their Charms essay.

"I stayed up half the night finishing the bloody thing. I didn't even get a chance to start on any of my other homework. I understand that it's our 7th year, but this is ridiculous. We've only been back for a few weeks and already the Professors are giving us tons of homework-"

Faiths' ranting was soon interrupted.

"Where's Lily?"

Faith looked up to find James Potter standing behind her.

"She's still in the dorm," Faith said casually. "She's feeling ill."

James' hazel eyes filled with concern.

"Ill?" he repeated. "Is she going to be all right?"

"Yeah, she'll be fine. She has a slight fever, but she's sleeping it off."

After breakfast, Faith and the others headed to Potions class. Faith, Carmen, and Kevin sat at their table in the very front, while James and his friends sat at the table behind them. The bell rang shortly after and Professor Slughorn, an overweight, slightly balding man, took role before addressing the class.

"Okay, class, today we are going to begin a project that will be due before Christmas break. You will get to work with a partner, which I will assign you." He paused for a second, looking around at his students. "This is your big project for the year. It's worth fifty percent of your grade, and I want you all to have an ample amount of time to complete it, which is why it's not due until Christmas. Now, the project: I want you and your partner to write about a potion. You have three to choose from: Poly Juice Potion, Veritaserum, and Felix Felicis." He wrote each on the board. "I want an essay on its history, uses, what part each ingredient plays in the potion, along with anything else you want to include. Are there any questions?"

Everyone was silent and the only sound was the scratching of quills on parchment as the students wrote down the information. Slughorn clapped his hands together and walked over to his class roster.

"Okay, I'll pair you up now. When I call your name and that of your partners, I want you to sit there quietly until I'm finished. Then, you may get with your partner. Today, I just want you to decide which potion you are going to research. Okay, first group, Ms. Adams...you will work with Mr. Pettigrew-"

Remus turned to James. "When Slughorn gets to Lily, he's going to let people volunteer to be her partner. You can volunteer and this will be your chance to show her you've matured."

James nodded. He loved the way his friends mind worked sometimes.

"Ms. Baldwin, you are with Mr. Echols...Mr. Black, with Ms. Johnson...Would anyone like to be paired with Ms. Evans?"

Faith was about to raise her hand when she heard someone behind her speak.

"I will, Professor," said James, his hand in the air.

Faith looked behind her as she heard Slughorn say, "All right, Mr. Potter. Thank you?"

She gave James a questioning look before turning in her seat and exchanging a similar glance with Carmen.

Slughorn continued to call out names. He ended up pairing Faith and Remus together, and when he was done pairing everyone up, he let them get with their partners to begin choosing their potion. After class, Faith walked up to James and his friends.

"What are you trying to pull, James?" she asked.

His friends looked between the two of them.

Faith continued to talk. "You know Lily's not going to be too happy about this."

"I know," James agreed. "But I changed over the summer, and I just want Lily to see that, but she won't even give me the time of day."

"He really has changed," Remus chimed in. "And even if, in the end, Lily doesn't like James that way, at least she'll see that he's more mature. Then, she'll be more likely to work with him as Head Girl. They'll get a lot done."

Faith studied Remus.

"This was your idea, wasn't it?"

Remus nodded.

Faith sighed. "It's going to take a miracle for this to turn out okay."

"I know, but trust me; I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't believe anything good could come out of it. Please say you're okay with it. You and I are partners and if you're mad at me, we're not going to get much done."

Faith was quiet for a few seconds. Then she sighed, and even though every part of her body was telling her this was going to turn into a disaster, asked, "Who's going to tell her?"

The boys smiled.

"I guess I will," said Remus. "Seeing as how it was my idea and all. Plus, Lily might be more likely to be somewhat accepting of the whole situation when she learns that I think it's a good idea."

"Believe me," Faith scoffed. "I don't think there's anything that could make Lily accepting of this. I really hope you all know what you're getting yourselves into."

"Well, in that case, Faith, would you go with me when I tell her? Maybe the two of us can keep her from hurting us or James."

Faith nodded.

"What about me?" James asked. "Should I be there too?"

"Uh, that's probably not a good idea," said Faith. "Lily's going to be pretty pissed, and you being there will probably just make things worse. No offense."

"None taken. I understand," he said. "Well, we better get to our next class."

Faith went up to check on Lily during lunch, as she said she would. She walked into the dorm to find Lily sound asleep in bed. Her friend had kicked off most of the covers.

'She's going to be so mad when she finds out,' Faith thought to herself as she tucked Lily in for the second time that day.

She felt her forehead. Lily's fever had gone down a little, but she was still warm.

Faith walked out of the room wondering what she had gotten herself into.


	3. Chapter 3

-1Chapter 3

Lily woke up the next morning feeling much better than she had the day before. She climbed out of bed and walked to the bathroom. Everyone else was still asleep. Once in the bathroom, she turned on the warm water and shed of her clothes. After being in bed for a whole day, what she needed now was a nice, hot shower. Lily left the bathroom thirty minutes later with a towel wrapped around her.

Faith and the others were now awake and Robyn was waiting by the door.

"It's about time," she commented, pushing past Lily. "Merlin, how much time does one person need in the bathroom?"

"I don't know, Robyn. How long do you reckon it will take you to put on enough make-up to hide that hideous pimple on your forehead?"

"Pimple?" Robyn shrieked, slamming the door.

Lily, Carmen, and Faith all started laughing as Lily walked over to her bed. The bathroom door flew open and Lily looked over.

"What are you on about, Evans? There was no pimple on my face."

"Sorry, I thought I saw a pimple," she said, glancing at Faith and smiling.

Robyn slammed the door and the two girls started laughing.

"I swear, if she did have a pimple, she'd probably have a melt-down," Carmen said.

Lily agreed with a smile before getting dressed. After she was ready, she grabbed the stack of parchment on her bedside table and leafed through them. 

"Thanks for getting my homework yesterday, Fay."

Faith looked up from brushing her hair. "It was no problem," she said. "Oh, by the way, Remus and I need to talk to you before breakfast."

"All right," Lily said, still going through the parchment.

Even though the group didn't have Potions again until Monday, Faith and Remus had decided it would be best to tell Lily before she saw James again. They figured it would give her enough time to get used to the idea and hoped that over the weekend her anger would have subsided enough for James to be safe around her, at least in an enclosed space with few chances of escaping. A few minutes later, the two girls were ready, walked downstairs to the common room, and then up to the boys' dorm. Faith knocked lightly on the door, opening it after Remus' voice told them to come in. The rest of the boys were already gone, and Remus was sitting on one of the beds.

Lily looked at him. "Faith said you two wanted to talk to me."

Remus nodded. "We do, but you might want to have a seat."

"Okay," Lily said slowly, sitting down on the closest bed with the same caution. "What is this about?"

She watched as Remus walked over and stood next to Faith, who was the first to talk.

"We have something we need to tell you; something that you're probably not going to like." Faith paused.

"What is it?" 

Faith inhaled, trying to think of the best way to say this. "Do you remember on the parchment where I wrote your assignments down?" Lily nodded. "And did you read the Potion's assignment?"

"Do you mean the project?" This time Faith nodded. "What about it?"

Faith remained silent so Remus decided to pick up.

"Lily, we have partners for that project. Your partner is..." He took a deep breath. "Your partner is James."

Both Remus and Faith expected the redhead to explode, but she didn't. Instead, she looked back and forth between the two as if expecting them to say it was all just a joke. Neither of them did, though.

"Did you just say my partner was James?" she asked calmly.

Remus nodded, thinking her fortitude was a good sign. Faith, however, wasn't so sure.

"How in the hell did this happen?" Lily asked, and Faith's suspicions were confirmed: Her best friend was keeping herself from yelling.

Faith quickly answered her question. "Slughorn asked if someone wanted to be your partner and James volunteered." Faith knew the next question and answered that one as well. "I tried to volunteer, but James said he would do it and Slughorn said okay.

Lily looked over at Remus, ready to ask him why he didn't stop James, but the guilty expression on his face told her all she needed to know. "This was your idea, wasn't it?" Remus suddenly became interested in the floor. "Remus, how could you do this? You're supposed to be my friend."

Remus looked up. "I am your friend, Lily. I'm sorry about this, I truly am. But James really has changed."

"I'll believe that when I see it," Lily scoffed as she stood from the bed. "I better get going; I want to get a start on my homework."

"What about breakfast?"

"I don't have much of an appetite," she said, leaving the dorm.

"I think that went pretty well," Remus said.

"It went better than it could've," Faith agreed. "But believe me, she's mad. She just held back from yelling for fear of what she might say."

"This is going to get worse before it gets better, isn't it?" Remus asked with a sigh, and Faith nodded. "Well, we might as well get down to breakfast. We're going to need our energy."

In the Great Hall, Faith sat with Remus and his friends. James looked up at the two.

"Where's Lily?"

"She wasn't hungry."

"She didn't take the news too well, did she?" he asked with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, James," Faith said. "She'll come around. Just give her some time. I know Lily, and she can be very stubborn, but if you really have changed, she'll eventually see that. She won't always hate you. Nevertheless, I really hope you have patience because you're going to need it. I mean, you do have six years to make up for."

James nodded. "I know."

Twenty minutes later, Remus, James, and Faith walked down to Ancient Runes. Lily was already sitting at the table she shared with Faith; a book was open in front of her. The three stopped in the doorway. After a second, James stepped forward, and Faith grabbed his arm.

"What are you doing?"

"I was going to go talk to her."

"That's probably not a good idea," Faith advised. "She's going through an I-want-to-kill-Potter phase right now, and you talking to her will only make it worse. No matter what you say to her," she added as James opened his mouth to protest.

Hesitantly, James agreed.

"Okay."

"Just stay close to Remus," Faith ordered as the three walked to their tables. 

Lily didn't look up as Faith sat down at the table, nor when Remus and James walked past. Lily didn't even acknowledge her best friend the whole class period. When the bell rang, she gathered her books and filed out the room with the rest of the students, leaving Faith alone at the table. Remus and James walked up to her.

"I am so sorry, Faith," Remus told her.

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because we dragged you into this, and now Lily's not speaking to you."

"Nobody dragged me into this, Remus. I knew what I was getting myself into, and I'll accept the consequences. She'll get over it."

"James and I talked about it, and if you don't want to do this anymore, we understand."

"Did you not hear me? I'm in this for the long run. I'm not giving up now. Besides, you two are going to need me: I know Lily better than anyone else does. Moreover, you're going to need someone who can keep Lily from attacking you. Telling Lily was the hard part. The rest is up to her."


	4. Chapter 4

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Chapter 4

It was nearing nine o'clock and Lily sat in the common room, with a book on her lap. She was copying notes down on a piece of parchment. Since it was Friday night, many of the other students were still in the Common Room. Faith searched the crowd for her friend. She spotted a mess of red hair and made her way over to it.

"Mind if I have a seat?" she asked once she reached the couch. Without waiting for an answer, Faith knew would not come, she sat down next to the redhead.

For a few minutes, the two girls sat in near silence: Lily taking notes as if she were alone, and Faith humming a tune.

"You can't ignore me forever, Lily," Faith said finally.

However, Lily did just that. She continued to ignore her, and thirty seconds later, Faith stood from the couch, worried. Faith turned, her back facing Lily, and took two steps away from the couch. Lily sighed behind her.

"Wanna bet?"

Faith smiled and spun to face her best friend, knowing she had been forgiven. After a fight with Lily, those were the best two words in the dictionary, and vise versa; it was their little way of saying they forgave the other. That was how they ended their fights, ever since their third year. Faith had actually started the whole thing, unintentionally, of course. She and Lily had had a fight in which Faith stopped talking to Lily; one night, Lily tried talking to her, and said she couldn't ignore her forever. Faith, having forgotten that she wasn't supposed to talk to Lily, had said, "Wanna bet?" And just like that, the argument was over. During their next argument, it was Lily who was mad and the same thing happened. From that point on, that was how they knew the other forgave them. It was sort of their way of calling a truce. Looking back, Faith couldn't even remember about what the argument had been. What she did remember, however, was sitting up with Lily the rest of the night, talking.

Now, she stared down at the girl. Lily looked miserable, as if she was agreeing to something that she really did not want to do. Faith studied her curiously.

"I guess if I'm going to get through this, I'm going to need my best friend to talk to," Lily told her. "What I don't get, though, is why you agreed to this in the first place."

Faith shrugged and sat down.

"I only agreed to it after the whole thing had already started. I'm on your side, Lily. You have to believe that. Just because I agreed to help James doesn't mean I'm against you."

"I know, I guess I just felt like you were taking their side over mine. You of all people know how much I despise Potter, and I guess I just thought you would agree with me. I expected Remus to do something like this; he's James best friend, but you're supposed to be mine."

"But Remus is the reason I decided it wasn't a horrible idea. I know you've always respected Remus' opinion, and I figured that I could trust him as well. And he truly believes James has changed."

"Yeah, but James has always been kind to Remus. And just because he thinks James has changed, doesn't necessarily mean that he has. James has always been a good friend, to the Marauders, but I'm thinking about how he treats people who aren't his friend."

Faith sighed. "Maybe James has changed, maybe he hasn't, but the only way you're going to know for sure is if you give him a chance."

Lily didn't reply, instead, she picked up her quill. "I've got to get back to my homework."

Faith grinned triumphantly; Lily knew her friend had a point but was unwilling to admit it.

"Then, I'll get out of your hair and let you get to work." Faith stood from the couch and walked off to find Carmen.

The weekend passed quickly and before the group knew it, Monday came. Faith, Remus, James, Sirius, Peter, and Carmen were anxious to see how Lily would behave in Potions. That morning was like any other: Breakfast was still held in the Great Hall; Faith, Carmen, and Lily still had Double Muggle Studies and Herbology; and the three girls walked to their third class of the day. Potions. The Marauders were already sitting at their regular table. Slowly, the rest of the students made their way to the class. A few minutes later, the bell rang and Slughorn called for the class to settle down. After taking role, he turned to his students.

"Okay, class, get with your partners and continue working on your potion."

The sound of shuffling and chitchat filled the room as the students did as instructed. Everyone knew there was no chance of Lily walking over to James, so instead, he and Faith switched seats.

It was the longest forty-five minutes of James' life. Both he and Lily sat in silence, each taking their own notes. Finally, the bell rang and James stood to gather his things. He was shoving his books into his bag when he heard Lily speak.

"Meet me in the library at seven."

By the time James looked up, Lily was already heading for the door.

'Okay,' he thought to himself, 'This is my chance to prove myself to Lily.'

Slinging his bag over his shoulder, he filed out of the classroom with Remus, Sirius, and Peter, who had been waiting for him.

That evening at five to seven, Lily made her way down to the library. She opened the door to the room in which she had spent so much of her time. Many other students were there also, sitting at the round tables, books open in front of them, copying down notes. At some tables, there were only one or two students, at others, groups of four or five sat quizzing each other quietly. Lily glanced around for an empty table. There didn't seem to be one, but she continued looking anyway. During the search, something caught her eye. At a table, there was a boy sitting alone with books spread out on the table. His head was bent as he copied notes, and all Lily could see was messy black hair.

'Is that...' Lily wondered to herself.

She walked over to the table.

"James?"

The boy looked up and it was indeed James.

"Lily, have a seat."

Shocked, Lily pulled out the chair and sat down. She glanced at the various books scattered around the table. There were books on each potion.

'Is this really happening?' Lily asked herself. To say the least, she was mildly surprised, and, though she would never admit it, somewhat impressed that James had been there early and already working.

James' voice snapped Lily out of her small trance.

"I was thinking that we could do Veritaserum." Lily looked up at him as he continued. "Polyjuice Potion would probably be the easiest, but Veritaserum, while more complex, is quite interesting. Felix Felicis has some interesting ingredients used in it," he continued, glancing at his notes, "but I still think Veritaserum would be the best one to do, in terms of what we could learn. Nevertheless, which ever you want to do is fine with me."

It took Lily a second to realize that James was watching her patiently, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, um, we can do Veritaserum, that's fine."

"Okay," James said as he stood from the table. "I'll just put these books away, and I'll be right back."

He gathered the books on the table not pertaining to their potion and carried them away, leaving three books: The one he had been copying from and two others.

Lily took out parchment, a quill, and a bottle of ink, picked up one of the remaining books, and began copying notes. When James returned a minute later, he sat down and resumed taking notes. For the next two and a half hours, they wrote in silence. With her hand nearly cramping, Lily placed her quill on the table and began stretching her hand. Only realizing what time it was after glancing at the clock.

"We should probably call it a night," Lily said to James whose head was still bent over a book.

He looked up at her.

"Huh?" James glanced at his watch. "Oh, wow. I didn't realize it was that late. Time flies when you're having fun."

Lily nodded uncertainly as she closed her book and rolled up her parchment. After putting the books away, James walked back to the table. Lily was about to ask when they should get together next when James spoke.

"Hey, Lily, I have Quidditch practice for the next few days..."

'I knew this was too good to be true,' Lily told herself. 'It was typical James behavior and I should have seen it from the start: He figured he would work for three hours and then not have to do anymore.'

"So, I was wondering if maybe you would like to meet me during lunch on Wednesday."

"What?"

"I-"

"No, sorry. I heard what you said, I'm just..."

"Shocked because that's not something the normal James Potter would say?" he suggested.

"Well, yeah. Sort of."

James chuckled. "I understand. So, what do you say?"

"Oh, to Wednesday. Uh, sure."

"Okay, well, I've got to meet up with Sirius, so I'll see you tomorrow. All right?"

"Yeah."

The two walked out of the library together but then headed off in different directions.

Lily walked back to the Common Room, replaying the events of the past few hours. The Gryffindor Common Room was nearly empty with only a couple students sitting on the couch, talking. Lily went up to her room to find Faith and Carmen waiting for her.

"How'd it go?" asked Faith.

"Better than expected," Lily answered before going into detail.

"So, does this mean you've changed your thoughts about James?"

"Hardly," Lily scoffed. "I was pleasantly surprised, but I'm not giving him the benefit of the doubt just yet. It could've easily been an act. I mean, James has been an insufferable git for the past six years, and six years versus two and a half hours doesn't exactly balance out."

Faith sighed, but decided it best not to argue.


	5. Chapter 5

-1Chapter 5

Wednesday afternoon, Lily walked out of Charms and, instead of going to the Great Hall like normal, headed for the library. When she arrived, it was fairly empty: At the few occupied tables, students sat scrambling to finish last second work. Lily wasn't all that surprised when she didn't see James; his class was all the way at the other end of the castle. She sat down at a table and got out her notes from last time. She went over them, highlighting important details.

Five minutes later, James still wasn't there, but Lily didn't think much of it. 'He probably had to go his dorm to get his notes,' she told herself. However, after ten minutes had passed, she was starting to get annoyed. Another ten minutes passed and she was mad. She rolled up her parchment and put the lid on the inkbottle.

James walked out of his classroom and pushed past students in a hurry to get to the library. He was halfway there when he realized he had left his notes in his dorms. Swearing quietly, he turned back and practically ran to his Gryffindor Common Room and up to the boys' dorm. On his way back to the library, he heard yelling.

'What now?' he asked irritated.

He looked over to see a small group of students watching two others. With a sigh, James checked his watch; he was already twelve minutes late for meeting Lily. Nevertheless, he knew he had to stop this. He glanced around for a teacher, or even a Prefect. Of course, none was in sight. With another sigh, he whipped out his wand.

"Okay, that's enough. Break it up," he said, walking over and standing in between the two students. He didn't really recognize either of them, but they looked to be fifth or sixth years. The patch on their robes told James they were Slytherins. "As I'm sure you are both aware of dueling in the corridors is against the rules."

"He started it," spat one of the boys, pushing his light brown hair off his forehead.

James did recognize the boy; he was on Slytherin Quidditch team, but he couldn't remember his name. Now that James thought about it, both boys were on the Slytherin Quidditch team.

The other boy merely smirked. "Can I help it if you're unable to satisfy your girl? She came to me practically begging to be shown a good time. How could I refuse?" The first boy stood there, clutching his wand so tightly his knuckles were white.

"Shut up," he hissed in a low voice.

"A girl like that has needs. It takes a real man to answer said needs. Don't blame me for you inadequacies."

"I said 'shut up!'" the boy roared, raising his wand.

"That's enough!" James yelled. "Regardless of who started it, you both have a week's detention and 50 points deducted from Slytherin. Each. Now get to lunch all of you," he demanded to the group.

The small crowd dispersed and James continued to the library, checking his watch again. He had just wasted four more minutes. He was a few feet away when he heard the brown haired boy speak.

"This ain't over, McNair."

"Maybe not," James heard McNair reply. "But it will have to wait; I'm supposed to meet Kendra."

James was about to turn the corridor when he heard one simple word. "Crucio!"

James spun back around just as McNair responded with "Stupefy."

Thankfully, both spells missed their targets, but this fact did nothing for James' mood.

"Accio wands," James yelled and both wands came flying towards them. He caught them, shoving them angrily into his pocket, along with his own. "Apparently," he began, his voice so dangerous that neither boy dared to move, "detention and docked points didn't teach you to a lesson." He grabbed the boys roughly by the neck of their robes. "So maybe, a visit to Dumbledore will do the trick."

With a slight shove, the three of them began walking. For a few minutes, none of them spoke, but then McNair broke the silence.

"You know, Scott, I really don't blame you for not being able to satisfy Kendra. She can be a bit hard to handle. Even I had a little trouble."

"Shut your mouth," the boy growled, much like he had minutes before when telling him to shut up.

"I doubt that many men could handle her," McNair taunted. "I'm just glad that she found someone who could give her what she needs."

Scott's hand balled into a fist as tried to lunge at the boy. Fortunately, James tightened his grip on the boys' collar at the last second.

"That's enough!" he yelled at McNair. "Quite egging him on. The next time you open your mouth, I'm taking 200 more points from Slytherin. Got it?"

Both boys nodded, but the smirk remained visible on McNair's face. Once again, there was silence. And, just like before, it was McNair who broke the silence after only a few minutes.

"I thought you said we were going to the Headmaster."

"Huh?" James asked.

"You said you were taking us to Dumbledore, but this isn't the way to his office."

"I know," James answered. "We've got to stop somewhere first."

Moments later, they came to a stop in front of the library.

"Wait here," James instructed the boys.

James entered the library just as Lily was shoving her parchment and other material into her bag.

"Lily," James called out, walking over to her.

James could tell by the look on her face that she was not happy. James didn't even make it to her table, for she started walking as if she had not heard him.

"Lily, something came up," James said, only to be shushed by Madam Pince.

For the first time, Lily acknowledged the boy. "James, if you weren't planning on showing up, why did you even ask me to meet you here in the first place?"

"I had every intention of showing up, but there were these students-"

"I don't want to hear it, James."

"And neither do I," hissed the librarian. "Some people are actually trying to work, so if you would be so kind as to take it outside."

"Just chill out," James said to the woman.

"Unbelievable," Lily muttered, shaking her head as she pushed past James to the door.

"Lily, wait," James ran after her, catching her by the arm just as they exited the library. "What did I do this time?"

"What did you do-- James, you can't just talk to the librarian like that. You're Head Boy; you're supposed to be setting an example. And that doesn't include yelling at the staff."

The two Slytherins stood, watching the scene. It became apparent to them that Lily had not yet noticed their presence.

"I'll go back and apologize. Will that help?"

"You don't get it, James. You shouldn't have to apologize. You should've known better than to do it in first place."

As she turned to leave, Lily finally noticed the two Slytherins standing against the wall.

"What are you two doing there?"

"They're the reason I was late," James explained. "I caught them dueling in the corridor and I'm taking them to Dumbledore. I stopped by here because I didn't want you to the think I'd stood you up, so to speak."

"If they were dueling, why didn't you just give them a warning," Lily asked, crossing her arms.

"I did, but they couldn't leave it at that," James told her. "Look, I know we won't have time today to get together. And I won't be able to try again tomorrow at lunch. So, I was thinking, we could get together later on tonight."

"I thought you had Quidditch practice."

"I do, but the guys can manage without me." James shrugged. "You think about it and let me know later. I've got to get these two to Dumbledore." He turned to the Slytherins. "Come on, let's go."

Lily merely stood there as the three walked off. After a few seconds, she headed to the Great Hall. For the first time, she actually started to toy with the idea that maybe James had changed. He loved Quidditch, yet he was willing to give it up to study. That was something Lily didn't even think was possible. That night at dinner, Lily walked over to James and his friends.

"Uh, James, I was thinking about what you said earlier, about meeting tonight."

"Uh huh."

"Well, we can just meet some other time."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah. It's fine."

"All right. If you're positive."

Lily nodded before going back over to her friends.

"So?" Faith asked as her friend sat down.

"I told him to go ahead and practice Quidditch."

"I still can't believe he actually offered to skip practice. I mean, I completely believe he's changed, but that boy lives for Quidditch."

"I know, that's why I couldn't let him go through with it." Lily, who had been piling potatoes on her plate suddenly stopped. "James knew that I couldn't let him skip Quidditch practice, I would never let myself live it down. He knew that. He knew that he was never in any real danger of having to give up Quidditch, and he gets credit for asking."

"Oh, come on, Lily. Now you're just being ridiculous. You've always been strong-willed, and that's one thing I admire about you, but now you're just being bull-headed."

Lily didn't say anything. Instead, she lowered her head and began eating.

Later that evening, Lily and Faith were in their room, studying. They both looked up as the door opened and Carmen walked in.

"James is looking for you, Lily," she said. "He's down in the Common Room."

"All right, thanks," Lily said, closing her book. She looked at Faith. "I wonder what he wants." Her only response was a shrug from her friend.

Lily left her room and walked down the steps. She found James sitting on a couch in the semi-crowded Common Room.

"I thought you had Quidditch practice," Lily said, walking over to him.

"I ended it early," James said. "I figured we could get together and work on our project. If that's okay with you."

"Yeah, sure." Lily was in a bit of shock that James had cut practice short. Nonetheless, she went upstairs and gathered her notes. She and James spent the next forty-five minutes going over their notes.


	6. Chapter 6

-1Chapter 6

Lily and James were on the couch, an open book settled in between them. Lily was sitting with her legs crossed and parchment on her knee.

"So, what are some of the ingredients you found?"

"I think the most important one was-" Someone coming in through the portrait cut James off, or rather two some ones.

Summer giggled when Sirius kissed her neck. After a few seconds, she looked up and her face of pleasure turned to one of surprise.

"Oh. Hi." Her tone suggested that she had known the Head Boy and Girl were there the whole time.

Sirius pulled away from her neck and looked at the two on the couch.

"Hey, James. Lily."

Both merely nodded in response.

"Well, I guess we'll head upstairs," Sirius said, grabbing Summer by the hand.

Lily and James watched as they walked across the room and disappeared up the stairs. They heard Summer's giggle echo through the empty stairwell.

"When did they start going out?" Lily asked.

"Probably the second they got paired up for the project." James' reply was half-serious.

Lily couldn't help but smile, and James couldn't help but notice how well it suited her.

"You have a nice smile."

His comment caused Lily's cheeks to turn slightly pink, James couldn't help but notice this either.

"I'm sorry if I offended you or anything."

"No. No, you didn't. It's just weird, I guess: Getting a compliment from you. Plus, I blush easily."

"Well, we should probably get back."

"Back where?" Lily asked, confused.

"To work."

"Oh, right," replied Lily, her blush deepening.

A few weeks later, on a cool November Saturday, Lily and James were sitting outside under a big tree. Lily was propped up against the tree. She stretched out her legs, which had currently been crossed. For a couple of seconds, she watched James as he skimmed through his notes, making marks with his quill occasionally. She set aside the book that had been doubling as a table for her to write on.

"James?" she began, unable to believe she was going to do this.

"Yeah?" He looked up from his parchment.

Lily took a deep breath. 

"There's something I need to tell you-well ask you, really." She paused and James waited patiently. "And to do this, I have to swallow my pride. This isn't all that easy for me, and I'm not exactly sure how to put it into words, so you may need to bear with me."

James rolled up the parchment and put the lid on his inkbottle, placing them next to him.

"I'm listening."

Lily drew another breath. "Here goes nothing. James, when Remus and Faith told me you were my partner for this project, that was due at Christmas, no less, I was furious. I was certain that I was going to hate working with you." Lily realized that once she got started, it was easier than expected to put her many, jumbled thoughts into words. "That first day, when I told you to meet me in the library and you were there before me, I was pleasantly surprised. Nevertheless, I still wasn't convinced that you had changed; it could have been an act. Even after you cut Quidditch practice short to study, I was in denial. In the back of my mind, I knew you had changed, but it took a few days for me to quit being stubborn and accept that fact. In the past week or so, I've found it easier to get along with you. And I was wondering if you-if we could be friends," Lily finished.

James smiled but managed to hold back a laugh.

"That's it?" he asked. "That's what you wanted to ask?"

"Yeah." Lily bit her lower lip; she knew this was a bad idea.

James chuckled and shook his head.

"You must've really hated me if you had to swallow your pride and go through all that just to ask if we could be friends."

Lily smiled.

"You have no idea." Then, she realized what she had said. "I mean, that was how I used to feel. I don't feel that way anymore. I know you've changed. I-"

James cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry about it. I know what you mean, and I don't blame you. I was a jerk. Sometimes, I think back to some of the things I did and I feel ashamed and embarrassed that I acted that way. Nevertheless, the past is in the past and there's nothing we can do to change it. What we can do, however, pretty much all we can do, is focus on moving forward. So, to answer your question, request, whatever you want to call it, yes. I think it would be great if we became friends."

"Wonderful," Lily said.

Without knowledge of reason, or even registering her actions, she threw her arms around his neck. Noticing whom she was hugging, Lily pulled away slowly.

"Sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed.

James chuckled a little.

"It's fine. Friends hug, see," he said, pulling her into another hug.

Being this close to James Lily realized how good he smelled: Like body soap and shaving cream. Unlike most boys his age, who usually drowned themselves in cologne, James didn't appear to have on even a drop. One thing was certain: His scent was intoxicating. When James released her from the hug, Lily became self-conscious about her attraction to the way he smelled. She felt her face warm as he looked at her.

"What?" James asked.

"You smell good." She did not just say that aloud, did she. The confused expression on James' face told her that she, in fact, had spoken aloud. "Not that I was-I mean, you don't stink either-I just...Oh Merlin, please just shoot me now." She dug her head into her hands.

"Friends compliment each other, too," James said. "For example, I couldn't help but notice the pleasant aroma of your hair; like green apples. Why don't we start over?" he suggested. "Hi, I'm James Potter, Head Boy and ex-egomaniac. And you are?"

Lily looked up slowly.

"I'm confused. I used to be Lily Evans, but she doesn't seem to be controlling my movements or motor skills anymore."

"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Confused, regardless of who is in control of your mind." James held out his hand.

Lily couldn't but laugh as she shook his outstretched hand.

"So, is there anything you'd like to accidentally blurt out?" James asked.

"Like what?"

"I don't know, maybe something about how rough, yet smooth, my skin is; or maybe how my handshake is firm yet gentle."

Lily laughed yet again.

"I thought you said you were an ex-egomaniac."

"There's a difference between having self-confidence and being conceited."

Lily placed a hand on her chest, feigning admiration. "Wow, James, that's deep. Really deep. But you know it would be more convincing if you actually believed it."

James laughed.

"Congratulations, I believe that Lily is in control once again."

Lily laughed also.

"I guess she is." After a few seconds of silence, she became serious. "You do realize that now, since we're friends, our friends are never going to let me live down that I was wrong about you."

"Don't worry," James said. "I'll tell them to lay off or they'll be put in detention."

Lily felt her lips form into a smile. She heard the distant yet distinct sound of the bell from inside the castle, whether it was signaling lunch or dinner, she couldn't be sure. James must have thought the same thing as her for he looked at his watch.

"We should probably head inside."

"Why? What time is it?"

"Six," James answered as he gathered his things and stood, Lily did the same.

"Oh, wow. Already?" The question was rhetorical but James nodded anyway. "Time flies when you're blurting things out like an idiot."

"I thought it was kind of cute." Noticing the look on Lily's face, he quickly added, "I mean it was nice seeing that aren't perfect."

"Me, perfect?" Lily repeated. "I'm nowhere near perfect. If anyone's close to perfection, it's you."

"Me? But I thought you hated me."

"I did, but that didn't change the fact that you were good at every thing you did: Your school work, Quidditch, even being mean to people, you were great at that."

"Lily, I'm not perfect. There are plenty of things I can't do. For example, I can't cook to save my life. I remember this one time, Sirius and I tried to make pancakes. We'd made a complete mess of the kitchen before we realized that neither of us had any idea what we were doing."

Lily laughed. "No way," she said as James opened the oak doors to the castle and followed her in.

"Yes way. Flour was everywhere. It was a disaster."

They were laughing when they felt hands pulling them into a broom closet.

"What the-"

"Lumos." Lily held out her wand, the light illuminated two faces. "Remus? Faith? What are you two doing?"

"We saw you guys hugging, so spill," demanded Faith.

Suddenly, an idea popped into Lily's head. She looked over at James and winked before walking over to him. She stood in front of James and leaned back into him while he wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Well, you see," Lily began. "James and I were working and I told him that I knew he had changed, giving this whole big speech. Then, I asked if we could be friends."

"And I said yes," James finished.

"Wait a minute. Just friends. That's it?" Faith asked.

"That's all I can handle. We like each other as friends. No more, no less," Lily said, stepping away from James. "Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to take my books up to the dorm."

After Lily had left the closet, Faith looked at the boys.

"She has no idea how perfect you two looked standing there with each other," she told James.

"Yeah," agreed Remus. "But don't worry, mate, she'll come around."

"Maybe," James said. "But for right now, I'm just happy she doesn't hate my guts. I'm perfectly content with being friends."


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

A mere week had passed since the Saturday afternoon under the tree, but it had felt like an eternity. Lily and James were getting along better than ever; it wasn't uncommon to find the two of them in an empty Common Room or up in the boys' dorm, talking. They often lost track of time during their conversations. Anytime Lily had to vent about something, James was there to listen or offer his advice. In return, Lily listened to James, though he usually shared amusing stories about his friends' antics. With the stress of her final year and Head duties, Lily often found it was just what she needed.

Coming back from the owlry, Lily gave the portrait the password to the Common Room. There were students scattered about: Some were playing Exploding Snap or Wizard's Chess; some were attempting to study; and others were just hanging out, but two particular students caught her eye. Occupying a chair off in the corner, the couple was embarrassed in a heated snogging session. Lily marched over to the couple.

"Hem, hem," she coughed loudly.

Sirius and Summer disengaged themselves from each other and looked up at the Head Girl. Immediately, Sirius put on his heart-melting smile.

"May we help you, Ms. Evans?"

"Yes, as a matter of fact, you may, by getting a room," Lily said. "You both know very well that PDA is against the rules."

"We were only kissing," protested Summer.

"No, you were setting a bad example for the younger students," corrected Lily, motioning to a group of giggling first-years watching.

Summer scoffed. "Who died and made you Mother Theresa?"

"C'mon, Sum, let's just go somewhere else," requested Sirius.

"As a seventh year, you're obligated to be a good influence on the grades below you," Lily retorted, both she and Summer ignored Sirius.

"Well, I'm sorry not everyone can be a stuck up prude like you."

"Seriously, babe, let's just go," Sirius insisted, pushing Summer up off the chair and standing behind her. Taking her hand, he practically dragged her out through the portrait.

Lily stood in dismay for a few seconds before going over to the steps and heading up to the boys' dorm. Without bothering to knock, Lily threw open the door and entered.

"Do you think I'm a prude?" she asked.

James looked over from his desk, slightly confused at her entrance and question.

"Um, no. Why do you ask that?"

"No reason," she sighed. "It's just something someone said." Lily walked over and sat on James' bed. After a moments silence, she spoke again. "Actually, it was Summer Johnson; I caught her and Sirius kissing."

James turned in the chair to look at her directly. "What did she say, exactly?"

Lily told him of the encounter.

"Don't mind her," James said after she had finished. "She's just mad that she got in trouble. You're not a prude." James could see that Lily wasn't convinced, so to lighten the mood, he added, "Of course, if you really want to prove her wrong, you could always sleep with me." Lily gave him a skeptical look and he continued, "As a bonus, I'll even tell my friends how great you were, and you could be overheard saying that I was good, but you'd had better."

Lily managed to cover her smile with a scowl.

"Do you want me to sound like a Scarlet woman?"

James shrugged.

"It's better than a bunch of snobs thinking you're a prude."

Lily sighed. "You're right." James wasn't entirely sure what he was right about until Lily added, "I was being ridiculous. I mean, since when do I care what people like Summer Johnson think? When she said that, though, I just got to thinking that maybe she was right. I've only had one boyfriend and even then, all we did was kiss. And it probably doesn't help matters that we broke up because I wouldn't do more."

"Did you love him?"

Lily didn't really see how the question was relevant, but she answered anyway. "No." She scoffed, "That's really the reason I left him: He tried pulling the 'If you loved me, you'd do this.' I just laughed in his face and said, 'Well, it's a good thing I don't love you.'"

James couldn't help but think that was definitely something Lily would say. However, what she did next utterly confused him: She cracked up laughing.

"Merlin," Lily said, catching her breath. "I must really be losing it." James decided it was best to keep his comment to himself, fearful of how she might react. "I guess all the school work and Head duties must be getting to me."

James studied her face for a second. "I don't know; your skin looks pretty clear to me."

He was right; she did breakout when she was stressed. Now the question was how James knew that. He must have sensed what she was thinking for he spoke hurriedly.

"Remus told me. After that day in fifth year, down by the lake, I had said something about the volcano on your chin; Remus told me to lay off, that you got pimples when you were stressed."

Lily nodded. "Oh." After a few second's thought, she smiled. "So, it must be you that's caused me to lose my wit."

James crossed his arms, leaning back in the chair. "This I gotta hear."

"It's quite simple, actually. Since we've become friends, I no longer have to put up with your daily harassment. Therefore, I don't have to produce cheeky comebacks. It's a case of if-you-don't-use-it-you-lose-it."

James considered this for a moment before nodding. "Okay, I see your point. So, what can I do to help?"

"Excuse me?"

"I would like to know how I can be of assistance in helping you get your wit back. I, too, have a busy schedule and, quite frankly, can't afford having you running to me every time you feel insecure."

Lily smirked. "Well, I'm terribly sorry that I've imposed on you. Maybe I should be consulting someone with more intelligence. Besides, talking to you doesn't seem to be that effective, otherwise, I wouldn't always need more advice."

Before James could get a word in, the door opened, Carmen and Kevin emerging from behind it. The couple, embraced in a kiss, failed to notice Lily and James' presence. With a shared look, they decided to see how long it took to be "discovered." In the meantime, they watched as Carmen, caught in between the wall and her boyfriend, pulled Kevin's shirt over his head, letting it fall to the floor. It became increasingly difficult to tell whose hands were whose. After about a minute, Kevin pulled away from Carmen and began kissing her neck. Carmen's hand, starting at his shoulder, slid down to Kevin's belt. It was then that she opened her eyes and noticed Lily and James, who were smiling.

"Kev," she gasped.

The boy must have taken this as a sign of encouragement for he continued to kiss her neck as his hand made its way up her shirt.

"Kevin, stop," Carmen said firmly, pushing him away slightly.

Kevin looked at her, confused. "What is it?"

"Hem, hem." Lily's cough was gentle, unlike the harsh one that she had used on Summer and Sirius.

The boy's head jerked toward the sound. His face reddened a bit. He spoke while still trying to catch his breath. "James, Lily, I-I'm sorry, we didn't see you there." His hand reached the doorknob. "We'll just go somewhere else."

James stood from the chair; Lily followed his lead. "No. No, it's okay. We'll leave." They made their way to the door. "You two have fun," he mused, following Lily out of the room.

Once out in the hall, Lily laughed. "Well, we know Carmen's definitely not a prude."

"That's for sure," James agreed as he and Lily headed to the steps.

Upon reaching the Common Room, which was still relatively full, James turned to Lily.

"Well, I should probably head to the library; I need to finish my report," he said, before his face dropped. "Blimey, I left my stuff upstairs."

"You could always wait until they're done," Lily suggested sympathetically, though a smile was playing at her lips.

"That could be a while and it's due Monday." James shook his head with a sigh. "No, I'm going to have to go up and get it."

This time, Lily laughed half-heartedly. "Good luck."

"Yeah, I'm going to need it," James grumbled as he trudged to the steps.

Lily went up to the girls' dorm. Deciding that she need to start on her own homework, she grabbed her stuff beside the bed and sat at the desk. The parchment was placed before her on the desktop, and Lily was about to dip her quill into the ink when the door flew open.

"Lily, you will never believe who just asked me out," Faith announced ecstatically. Before giving Lily a chance to guess, she blurted, "Dean Vessel."

"No way," Lily replied, standing up. "You mean, the Dean Vessel?" Her friend nodded, a grin permanent on her face. "The one you've fancied since fifth year?"

"The one and only," Faith beamed. "It turns out that he's liked me for years too; he just couldn't work up the courage to ask me out."

"I need details," Lily insisted, sitting on the bed.

Faith, however, was too excited to sit and dove right into the story. "Okay, so I was coming out of the library-I had to get books for the Ancient Runes essay. I don't understand why Professor Gortyna insists on giving us a foot-long essay to do over the weekend- but anyway. That's when we bumped into each other, literally. MY books scattered everywhere and he helped me pick them up. Both of us were apologizing profusely, adamant it was our own fault. As we were standing, he said 'You're Faith Mendel, aren't you?' I said yes, and he introduced himself-as if I needed an introduction.

"We started walking and noticed he was acting nervous, rubbing his neck and all. He mentioned Hogsmeade weekend, asked if I had any plans. Of course, by this time, my heart was about to burst. I was afraid I might say something stupid, so I just shook my head. Then, he says, all casual like, 'Well, I was kind of wondering if you'd like to hang out.' Before I could stop it, I squealed. Embarrassing, right? I was so afraid I'd scared him off, but he just laughed; he thought it was cute. There was an awkward silence. Then, he did it, he leaned forward and kissed me.

"We just spent the past half-hour talking. Well, actually, we only talked for ten minutes; the rest of the time we snogged." She got a dreamy look on her face. "He's an amazing kisser. And look-" She moved her blonde hair off her neck, revealing a bruise-like spot. "He gave me a love-bite," she said proudly. "By the way, what's wrong with James?" Lily wasn't in the least surprised about Faith's sudden change of topic. She was used to it. "I just saw him in the Common Room and he looked a bit traumatized."

"Oh, that's probably because he walked in on Carmen and Kevin." Lily went on to explain her conversation with James.

Faith laughed. "That poor lad, even after he's proven himself decent, you still find a way to blame him for everything."


	8. Chapter 8

-1**A/N Hey, guys, I wanted to give you all my deepest apologizes for taking so long with this chapter. Nevertheless, I really hope you all enjoy it.**

Chapter 8

Dinner that night was unusual, to say the least. Though it wasn't as if anything particularly bizarre happened, several minor differences were apparent. Any one of these events alone wouldn't have been decisive but with all of them occurring at the same time, it seemed like a phenomenon. Outside of the Great Hall, Lily became formally acquainted to Dean Vessel, a somewhat lanky, brown-haired boy. Dean was a whole head taller than Faith, whose height had never been her strong suit. The two made an odd pair but seemed to balance each other out. The three headed into the Hall, and being from a different House, Dean walked over to the Ravenclaw table, only to join Faith at Gryffindor moments later. Everyone noticed that Sirius and Summer were missing. The final, and probably most humorous, thing was the fact that James, Carmen, and Kevin could not look at each other without shifting awkwardly in their seats. After dinner, everyone went their separate ways: Faith and Dean retired to the library; James and the guys walked with Lily and Carmen to the Common Room where they all departed to their dorms.

"Bloody hell," Carmen said when she and Lily reached their room. "I didn't think I was going to make it through dinner."

Lily smiled. "I figured it must've been pretty bad when Faith said James looked horrified."

Carmen shook her head. "You have no idea," she mumbled. "So, Faith and Dean finally got together," she said, changing the subject.

"Yep."

"I'm going to go get a shower," Carmen told Lily, who was sitting on her bed, cross-legged with her books spread out in front of her.

While Carmen was in the bathroom, the bedroom door opened and Robyn, literally, stumbled into the room, tripping over her own feet. Lily could smell the alcohol and looked up to find her drunken roommate sneering at her, daring her to say something about her condition. Lily considered handing out some form of punishment but decided it wasn't worth it and went back to work. She could practically see Robyn's triumphant grin.

A few minutes later, Carmen emerged from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her body. She immediately picked up the pungent scent.

"Blimey, Robyn, did you leave any Firewhiskey for the rest of the world?"

The girl threw Carmen a dirty look before tripping into the bathroom, yelping as her toe hit the tub. Carmen snorted while Lily shook her head with a smile.

"I don't see why she drinks," Carmen began. "I mean, she's hardly graceful sober."

Lily laughed as the door opened once again. Carmen and Lily looked over to see Summer make a more quiet and practical entrance than her friend had minutes before.

"Where's Robyn?" Summer asked.

As if summoned, the drunken girl emerged from behind the bathroom door.

"Hey," she crooned with a mischievous smile. "You missed dinner. Sirius wasn't there either."

Summer smiled. "Yeah, we were...busy."

"So, you two..."

Summer nodded, still smiling.

"Well, all I can say is it's about time," slurred Robyn. "I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to give it up."

Lily noticed Summer's smile falter a bit. However, it could have been her imagination because in the next second, she was smirking.

"Hey, a girl's gotta have standards. You can't just shag the first guy bloke that offers. We can't all be you," she added in a teasing tone.

"What's wrong with being me?"

Carmen scoffed. "You got a while?"

Robyn turned to her with a scowl. "Was anyone talking to you?"

Carmen met her scowl. "You asked a question and I answered. Is it my fault that the truth hurts?" She smirked.

Robyn glared at Carmen, but before she had a chance to retort, the door opened and Faith walked in, wearing a smile. Robyn merely huffed and turned on her heel.

"Have fun studying with Dean?" Lily asked.

Before Faith had a chance to answer, a different, more annoying voice broke in.

"That's right, you're dating Dean Vessel. You could do so much better than him." Robyn eyed her up and down. "On second thought, maybe not."

"Don't mind her," Carmen told Faith. "She's just pissed because I told her off. So, _studying_, huh? What was the subject?"

"Each other." Noticing Lily and Carmen's exchange of glances, Faith added, "Not like that. We talked-about our families, likes, dislikes." Faith sighed dreamily. "He's such a gentleman."

"Someone gag me, please." Robyn's voice broke in. This time, Lily was certain of the glare she threw at Summer.

"Seriously," the girl agreed, though her heart didn't seem in it.

"--I can't wait until Saturday," Faith continued, ignoring the interruptions. "Dean and I will get to spend the whole day together. Just the two of us." She let out another dreamy sigh.

"Put a sock in it already," Robyn snapped, earning a glare from Lily.

Nevertheless, Faith was unfazed, the grin on her face remained. Lily admired her friends' insouciance: only Faith could be completely insulted and not pay a lick of attention or care. If anyone deserved a happy ending, it was Faith.

"I'm glad for you, Faith," Lily said.

"Yeah, me too," Carmen assented.

"Thanks, you guys," Faith said, pulling them into a hug.

Lily yawned. "I'm going to hit the sack. I'm knackered; it's been a long day." She bid the others goodnight and changed into her pajamas before climbing into bed.

Hours later, after the rest of the girls retired to bed, Lily thought she heard the sound of a door opening and closing but assumed it was just someone in the bathroom. A bit later, having woken up completely, Lily pulled back the hangings. The first thing she noticed was the bathroom light was off. The second was that Summer's bed was empty. Lily figured she was in Sirius' room, which only annoyed her; Sirius knew how much trouble she and James could get in for two students of the opposite sex sleeping in the same dorm, especially when both of those students were from their own dorms. Throwing the covers off, she climbed out of bed and left the room. As she reached the common room, the distinct sound of crying filled her ears. Not like a sob, but more of a muffled cry. Moving closer, Lily noticed a crumpled heap on the couch.

"Summer?"

The girl looked up, startled. The dying fire provided enough light to make out the large teardrops sliding down her cheeks. More spilling from red and puffy eyes when she blinked. Summer hastened to wipe off her face but broke into a fresh wave of sobs before she could actually achieve anything. Her face disappeared behind her hands. Lily shouldn't have cared; Summer had never been anything but a complete cow to Lily and her friends, but her heart was too soft to just walk away. It was clear this girl was seriously hurting, regardless of past behavior.

"Summer, are you all right?" Lily asked, sitting on the couch. She remained seated even though her only response was crying. "I know we've never really...gotten along, but if you need to talk, I'm here," she offered softly.

She waited a few more minutes before getting a reply.

"I didn't want to," Summer finally said before sobs as she fought to catch her breath. "I-I was...saving myself," was all she managed before breaking down again.

Lily had a pretty good idea what Summer was talking about but was still confused. Sure, Sirius was a bit...hormonal, but he would never pressure a girl into doing something they didn't want to do. Lily waited patiently as Summer composed herself.

"Robyn has always sort of hassled me because I was a virgin, and the past two years, she's really been pushing me. I've always managed to avoid it: I'd say the guy was a bad kisser; I'd heard other girls say he wasn't good." She paused and drew a shaky breath. "When I started dating Sirius, I knew it was only a matter of time. I was out of excuses. He was everything I could ask for: He was kind, considerate, and I even...you know. The only problem was that I don't love him. It's not as if I was saving myself for marriage, but I was waiting until I fell in love with someone. I've always wanted my first time to be with someone I truly loved, someone who loved me back. Sirius is great and all, but there's just not that over-the-moon feeling. I see other girls hooking up with random blokes and I just don't get that. I believe that your first time, or any other time for that matter, should be special and shared with someone you love.

"I'm never going to have that. Especially now that I've already done it, Robyn's going to be on to me about not being choosy. I mean, before, she at least attempted to understand why I was so particular, but now..."

Lily was speechless; this was a side of her roommate that she had never seen before. Fortunately, there was no need for her to find words of comfort. Summer was speaking again.

"I've lost the chance to have that ultimate first time where I was head-over-heels in love, overcome with it. Instead, I wasted it on a fling--a shallow, practically meaningless relationship. And I can never get it back--"

"Summer?"

The two girls looked up to see a figure standing at the foot of the steps leading to the boys' dorm. Though his face was lost in the shadows, they could tell it was Sirius by his voice.

"Is...is what you just said...true?"

"Oh, God." Summer buried her head in her hands again.

Guilt spread across Sirius' face as he hurried over to scoop Summer into his lap.

Lily stood from the couch awkwardly. "I'll just leave you two alone."

"I had no idea," Sirius said, searching his mind for clues he might have missed. Some sort of indication of hesitance: a missed look, an ambivalent sigh. He couldn't recall a single one. In fact, _she_ had been the one to initiate it.

"I made sure you didn't." Her voice was surrounded by a sob.

"Oh, Summer." Sirius hugged her tighter. "Why did you go through with it if you were saving yourself?"

"I was sick of Robyn mocking me." She repeated what she had told Lily.

Sirius sat dumbstruck, not sure of what to say, how to make this better. He didn't love Summer, by any means, but that didn't mean he wanted to take something that didn't belong to him, see her falling a part like this.

"I'm so sorry," he apologized. Wishing the words could take away the pain he had caused but realistically knowing they couldn't, which only made him feel worse. "For everything. The way Robyn was, ruining your first time, everything."

Summer glanced up at him, tears streaming from her swollen eyes. Sirius saw the pain on her face, the guilt. What he didn't expect was the conviction.

"You can't blame yourself. You didn't do anything wrong. _I_ initiated the sex; I gave no indication that I wanted it any other way. This whole thing was nobody's fault but my own. _Mine_! I was so dumb, so stupid. I was too weak to stand up for myself. Too weak to tell Robyn to shove it. I got what I deserved."

"Don't say that!" Sirius' low growl startled her. She jumped and glanced up at him. Sirius immediately softened his voice, wiping away her tears. "You didn't deserve any of this. Not Robyn being a bitch, not being denied your first time. None of it. You were entitled to wait as long as you wanted, to save yourself until you found the right guy. Robyn had no right to make you feel you had to sacrifice that in order to be her friend. A _true_ friend would understand. Your body is your own. And sex is a big deal. No matter what anyone says." As Sirius said this, he wondered how many more were like her. How many other lives had he affected? He never initiated it in his relationships, and if the girl was even just a bit hesitant, he always stopped. But how many other girls had played it cool like Summer? Most importantly, what could he do to help?


	9. Chapter 9

**Hey everyone, here's the next chapter. It's more of a filler than anything, but let me know what you think anyway. Please and thank you. I hope you enjoy it.**

Chapter 9

The first thing Lily noticed the next morning was that Summer was absent from her bed. Despair overcame her as she remembered the ordeal the girl had suffered, and all to please Robyn. What had surprised her most was that last night she had seen the real Summer, and she had been nothing like the girl she had been pretending to be for the past seven years. In fact, now that Lily thought back, Summer wasn't always that way. When they started sharing a room in First Year, Summer had actually been quite friendly and even a little shy, but then she started hanging out with Robyn and that lot, and she became a total cow.

Lily couldn't fathom having to pretend you're someone you're not in order to be accepted by your 'friends.' Faith would never expect her to act a certain way and vice versa.

The room was quit, but for the soft snores coming from behind the curtains of the other girls' beds. Lily made her way to the bathroom--thankful that it was Sunday, meaning she didn't have to deal with classes after such an eventful day--and drew herself a hot bath. The good thing about a general Sunday, the others didn't wake up for a few more hours so she had plenty of time to soak in the bath and interruptions were very rare.

Stripping of her clothes, she stepped into the tub and slid down until, allowing the warm water to loosen her muscles. She let her mind go blank; there was no schoolwork, no snobby girls, no Voldemort, no Head duties, just her and the water. This was her drug of choice: baths.

Sometime later, when she was all pruned, Lily stepped out of the tub and wrapped a white, fluffy towel around her body. Re-administering the towel after using a Drying spell on her body and hair. She brushed her teeth quickly and relished in the clean, refreshing feeling.

When she finally left the bathroom, Carmen was gone and Faith was sitting up in bed, stretching.

"Good morning," Lily said, cheerfully on the way to her trunk.

"Yeah, yeah," grumbled her friend. The only time Faith was grouchy in the morning was on weekends, when she would have liked to sleep in late but woke up before she felt she was fully ready to.

"Faith, you do this every weekend," Lily began, as she took out Muggle clothes to wear. "You know you're not going to sleep in the way you hoped so why does it always upset you?" she asked, though she knew she wouldn't have it any other way. Truth be told, she didn't know what she would do if she woke up on Saturday or Sunday morning and Faith was chipper.

Faith merely grumbled as she stood and made her way to the bathroom.

"I'm heading down to breakfast," Lily called. "Do you want me to wait for you?"

"You'd better wait for me," Faith said, her voice cheerful. Lily knew that the prospect of food would cheer her friend up.

With a slight shake of the head, Lily went to the task of making her bed. She was a bit of a perfectionist; she couldn't function the rest of the day unless she knew that her bed was made nice and neat. She was smoothing out her pillow when Faith emerged from bathroom. Lily waited as Faith threw on a pair of jeans over the shorts she slept in. Another thing Lily didn't get was how people could traipse around in their nightclothes; she had to be decent before she could go present herself to the world. By decent she didn't necessarily mean make-up, but just clothes that would cover her sufficiently more than her flimsy nightgown. However, Faith didn't care what people thought, Lily suspected that she would go to class in her pajamas if the Professors would allow it.

"Okay, I'm ready," Faith announced, running a brush through her hair before slipping her feet into flip-flops.

The two girls left the dorm. On the way to the Great Hall, Lily listened to how Faith couldn't wait to see Dean.

"I don't know how I'm going to make it through the week," she was saying. "I mean, we don't have but a few classes together and even then we don't sit any where near each other. I think we have a free period together on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Of course, there's weekends, but with all our homework, who knows how much of that we'll actually get to spend together?

"At least we get to have meals together," Faith said, always looking on the bright side of things. "So, what's going on between you and James?"

The question startled Lily. "What do you mean? We're just friends."

"Uh-huh," Faith cooed. "For now maybe."

"You have no idea what you're talking about," Lily insisted.

"Okay, whatever you--"

A voice saying, "Guess who," cut Faith's words short as an anonymous pair of hands covered her eyes.

"Dean!" Faith squealed as she spun around and embraced the boy in a hug. And just like that, Lily was practically invisible. Not that she minded, with the way that conversation had been going. Plus, she loved seeing her friend happy.

"How are you, Lily?" Dean asked as he and Faith laced their fingers.

"I'm all right. You?"

"Never been better," announced Dean, with a smile directed at Faith. "After you, my lady," Dean offered, holding the door open for Faith as well as Lily.

The girls thanked him as he wrapped his arm around Faith and followed them to the Gryffindor table. Dean waited until Faith had gotten herself settled on the bench before taking a seat.

"See, I told you he was a gentleman," Faith whispered to Lily with a never-ending smile.

"How come you never do that for me?" Carmen asked her boyfriend.

"Because you would probably call me sexist pigs if I waited for you sit down. I can hear you now, 'Just because I'm a woman doesn't mean I'm incapable of seating myself.'"

"Oh, right," said Carmen, as the others chuckled.

"You two know each other so well," Dean said. "You must've been dating for ages now."

"It's been a few years," Carmen answered. "I figure, I've got a good thing going with this one, why break it off?"

"Oh, ha-ha," Kevin retorted, though he wrapped his arm around her waist as Carmen smiled triumphantly. Four people walking over to the table captured his attention. "Well, well, well look who decided to join us. I have to say, Sirius you must be a pro at those Silencing Spells because I didn't even know that Summer had stayed the night in our dorm until I woke up this morning and saw that she was in your bed."

"_What_?" Carmen inquired indignantly, "You mean you let Summer sleep in their dorm with Sirius but I'm not allowed to stay up there with Kevin."

"Nothing happened," Summer insisted with a blush while taking her seat.

"Summer, this is _Sirius_ we're talking about. Do you really expect us to believe that?" Kevin asked with a smile.

Lily tried to catch James' eye as to discern what he knew of the situation, but he was busy piling eggs on his plate, oblivious to the conversations around him. Lily couldn't help but noticed harshness with which he stabbed at his food--not to mention that he barely said two words to anyone, including Sirius.

Robyn finally joined them a few minutes later, taking her seat next to Summer, who was also being uncharacteristically quiet.

"Aww, the happy couple." Robyn's coo came out sounding more like a sneer; Lily doubted that Robyn had ever cooed at anything in her life. Summer's laughter at a joke--told to her by Sirius--died down a bit as the newcomer accommodated herself.

"Hey, Robyn," Summer replied as if everything between them was wonderful.

"Lily, would you pass me the gravy?" James asked, speaking for the first time all morning.

"Yeah, sure," Lily said. Glancing around for the requested item, she noticed that it was over by Sirius. Uh-oh. She reached over slightly and Sirius handed her the bowl. "Here you go." She placed the dish next to James.

Breakfast had ended and everyone was going their separate ways. Carmen and Kevin were heading to the library; Robyn had already dragged Summer away from the others, so that left Lily, James, Sirius, Faith, and Dean standing outside the Great Hall.

"Hey, Faith, I kind of already made plans with my friends today," Dean explained as his mates approached the group. "But they said I could bring you along if you wanted. We're probably just going to hang out."

"No, go ahead, hang out with your mates today," Faith said, but Lily could hear the regret in her voice.

"It's no problem, really, they're totally cool with it," Dean insisted.

"Yeah," agreed one of his friends, "we've been wanting to meet the infamous Faith that Dean won't quit talking about." The comment brought a blush to Dean's cheeks.

"You've been talking about me, huh?" Faith teased, smiling as she placed a hand on his arm.

"Don't worry, Dean," Lily assured him, "she couldn't shut up about you last night either."

Unlike Dean, the confession didn't bother Faith in the least.

"Oh, really now?" It was Dean's turn to give Faith a look of amusement.

"Are you two coming or not?" Dean's friend asked.

Dean turned to Faith. "What do you say?"

"Sure, why not?" she answered before allowing Dean to take her by the arm and lead her off, his friends following.

When Lily turned back around, she saw Remus and James walking off. "We'll be at the Library," Remus informed them.

Lily was about to head back to her dorm when Sirius' voice stopped her. "Can I talk to you?"

Lily turned back to him. "I take it you didn't tell him," she said, already knowing about what he wanted to talk to her.

"I wanted to, but Summer wouldn't let me. I explained to her that James would understand, but she insisted that she didn't want anyone else to know…"

"So, instead you let your best mate be pissed at you and think you betrayed him?" Lily guessed with an understanding voice.

"James'll get over it, but I've already put Summer through enough. If she doesn't want people to know, then the least I could do is give her that much." Sirius shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at the floor.

Lily studied him for a second. "Sirius." She placed her hand on his arm and waited until his eyes met hers. "Don't ever let anyone tell you that you're a bad person."

Sirius nodded, but Lily noticed how his hands balled into a fist in his pockets as his gaze drifted back to the floor.

"Look, if Dumbledore or anyone finds out, I'll take the blame and say that you and James had no idea," he offered in a mutter. "I'll even say that I coerced Summer into it so she doesn't get in trouble."

"How's she doing any way?" Lily asked.

"She cried herself to sleep last night," Sirius said miserably, and it was then that Lily realized that the boy looked like he hadn't slept a wink. "I feel so responsible. I mean, I know she says I shouldn't, that she acted like it was what she wanted, which she did a great job of, but I should've known."

"There was no way you could've known, Sirius. Summer's a great actress. She's fooled everyone into thinking she's someone she's not for the past six years," Lily insisted. "I mean, if anyone is to blame, it's Robyn--she made Summer feel like she wasn't good enough. That she had to be someone else to get her approval."

"And yet she's still friends with her!" Sirius stated angrily. "After all that Summer went through last night, she went back to that--" Sirius calmed himself with a deep breath. "I'm sorry; I just don't get how any one could be friends with someone like that."

"She's been doing it for so long, she doesn't know anything else."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Lily was half-way to the Gryffindor Common Room when she stopped. Turning around, she headed to the library. This wasn't right: James shouldn't be mad at Sirius. Sirius didn't deserve that. With Summer and everything, he shouldn't have to endure James' wrath as well. She was ready to give James a piece of her mind for acting that way towards Sirius, but then something reminded her that James didn't know the whole story. She, too, had been ticked when she thought Sirius had allowed Summer to sleep with him in the dorm.

Reaching the library, Lily opened the heavy doors as quietly as possible. A few people glanced up at the newcomer before going back to their work. She spotted James and Remus sitting at a semi-secluded table. Remus was the first to notice Lily approaching; he moved his books over to make room for her.

"Thanks, Remus," Lily said, getting James' attention. "But I'm not here to study. I was hoping I could talk to you, James."

"Sure." He closed his books and rolled up his parchment. "I'll just meet you at the dorm later, okay, Remus?"

"All right," Remus said. "I have more work I need to finish here."

Lily waited as James gathered his books, checking out a few, before following him out of the Library.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" James asked, walking quite awkwardly as he pressed the three books and parchment against his thigh, desperately trying not to drop them.

"It's about Sirius," Lily explained, watching his struggle with amusement. "Do you want me to take some of those?"

"Huh?" His eyes drifted down to the haphazardly balanced library books. "Oh, no, I've got it."

Lily shook her head, ever the macho man, he was. "James, you're going to drop them."

A thick volume slipping from James' grip emphasized her point. Luckily, his reflexes from Quidditch kicked in just in time for him to catch astray item with ease.

"Just let me take some," Lily insisted, reaching out. She sighed dramatically when James turned from her--which was about the only efficient thing he could do. "Having a girl help you with your books doesn't make you any less of a man. Not to mention you're walking as if you have a…"

The unfinished statement immediately caused a distraction from their argument. Apparently, Lily's blurting out of words had returned.

"A what?" James studied her as she reddened while a smile crept upon his own face. The redhead bit her lip, avoiding his eyes. "What does it look like I have, Lily?" he persisted, enjoying his little banter entirely too much.

"Just let me take a bloody book or two!" Lily snapped, fighting the urge to smile while also vowing never to speak again. Her harsh tone immediately wiped the smirk from James' face.

James frowned at her but sighed, nonetheless. "Okay, fine."

When Lily reached over, James held out a book, the smallest, of course. Lily took the offered item and snatched a second from his hands. She smiled triumphantly at him as he dropped the remaining materials back to his side.

"I don't see why guys carry their stuff like that," Lily commented. Quickly adding, "Like your books and parchment," when James gave her an amused grin accompanied by raised eyebrows. "This way is much more practical." Demonstrating as she held the books to her chest.

"Guys are more laid back. You girls look so vulnerable when you walk around with your _stuff'--_he put an emphasis on the word with a smile--"pressed close as if someone's going to attack you." Noticing the glare Lily was giving him, he now put on a reassuring, somewhat condescending, smile. "But it's a cute kind of vulnerable."

"And of course you big macho men can't help but assist us?" It was more of a statement than a question, said with a sharp tongue.

James feared that he had seriously offended her. That is, until her lips curled into a smile as she shook her head. James didn't know how to respond, so he didn't say anything. Lily broke the silence a few seconds later.

"Don't you think you're being a bit hard on Sirius?" Lily chewed on her bottom lip, preparing herself for James' reaction, whatever it might be.

James stared at her as if she had grown another head. "Lily, he let Summer sleep with him in the dorm. Not only could he get in trouble, but if anyone found out, you and I would be in hot water."

"But what if nothing happened," Lily suggested quietly, knowing James would think she'd gone nutters. "What if they didn't do anything?"

James scoffed at the notion. "It's like Kevin said, this is _Sirius_ we're talking about. Do you honestly expect me to believe that he had a girl in his bed--a girl he'd already slept with, no less--and nothing happened between them? No offense, but Sirius is my best mate; I think I know him a bit more than you."

Lily wanted so badly to explain. How, when everything came out about Summer, Sirius had stepped up.

Nevertheless, she couldn't do that to Summer or Sirius, so instead she said, "Sirius told me nothing happened. He said that Summer had a bad day and she snuck upstairs because she was upset. He was going to send her back to her own dorm, but he couldn't. She was in need of a friend. He let her lie with him and they fell asleep."

Lily was amazed at how easily the lie came to her. At first, she felt bad but told herself it was the only way she could make sure that no one was hurt further. It was this thought that helped Lily maintain her stance when James studied her for a few moments as if to discern her honesty. Finally, after a few seconds he spoke.

"If that's what happened, why didn't he just tell me?"

"Would you have believed him?" Lily asked, giving him a knowing look.

Again, James didn't respond, a look of guilt crossing over his features instead. The silence serving as his answer, Lily spoke.

"He feels horrible about the whole situation, and he'll take the blame if anyone finds out," she assured James. "But you can't stay mad at him, he's got enough on his shoulders right now and he could really use his best mate."

A small nod followed James' sigh as he dug his free hand into his pocket. "I wasn't really upset about him having a girl in his room, or even what the consequences would be for me. It was more the fact that he risked your position. I mean, you deserve to be Head Girl more than anyone else, and I was so mad that he would compromise that for his own selfish needs. You've been working towards this since First Year, and I just…I don't know--I guess I was pretty quick to blame him."

"James, nobody thinks badly of you for that. I mean, your whole dorm believes that Sirius and Summer--But in this case, everyone was wrong. We all make mistakes."

"The thing that gets me is he didn't even try to defend himself. He didn't even say that nothing happened. He just sat there when I was yelling at him." Lily watched as guilt crossed his face once again. "Bloody hell, I yelled at him when he didn't do anything wrong. I didn't even give him a chance to explain."

Lily placed a comforting hand on his arm. "James, you can't blame yourself," she insisted warmly. "You assumed the same as everyone else. I think Sirius will understand."

"Where is he anyway?" James glanced around as if his best friend would appear in the halls.

"He went up to the dorm," Lily answered a second before a student in a hurry to reach their destination knocked into James.

He muttered a harsh word as the materials flew out of his hand. Lily couldn't suppress her giggle but did manage to maturely resist the urge to say, "I told you so." Kneeling, she helped James gather the books and parchment strewn across the floor.

"Wait, there's another piece of parchment."

For the life of her, Lily had no idea why she didn't just point to aforementioned and let James get it. That would have been the smart thing to do, instead of reaching across him to retrieve it herself. Then, she wouldn't have been lying on top of James, wishing she had thought before she acted. To make things worse, an amused voice floated down the hall.

"Tsk, tsk, Lily and James, is that any way to set an example for the younger students?"

Lily quickly pushed herself up from the luxury--she did not just think that--of James' chest. Well, to be honest, he was warm and he did have a somewhat soft, comfortable feel to him. They shared a small, embarrassed smile before glancing up to see Carmen and Kevin strolling towards them. Lily could feel her cheeks flushing.

"I can totally understand that need for it right then and there, but in the middle of the hall? You couldn't find a broom closet?"

"Nothing happened," Lily said, hastily shoving the parchment to James and tentatively taking the hand he offered to help pull her up. His skin was warm, and clammy? James was as nervous as she was. "I was helping him pick up his books--"

"And then passion took over, so you pounced on him," Carmen finished with a smile.

Lily glared at her roommate, praying that no one walked by. James, however, was examining Kevin.

"A broom closet, huh?" he asked, smirking.

Lily was about to twist towards James in disbelief when the other couple shared a sheepish grin. She suddenly registered their disheveled clothing and the fact that their hands were in each other's back pockets.

"Carmen," Lily chastised in a defeated voice.

"It stopped at kissing," the girl quickly defended herself before smiling. "We were heading up to the dorm, actually." Her grin turned into something mischievous that Lily didn't trust. "But if you lot need-"

Lily gritted her teeth, clearly fed up, and James stepped in front of her, preventing what could have been an unpleasant confrontation.

"That won't be necessary, it's all yours," he said softly.

Ten minutes later, Lily and James were sitting in the crowded Gryffindor Common Room. The frigid air outside meant most students opted for keeping warm in the common rooms. Various, blended conversations swirled around like leaves in the wind. One could catch bits about boys, schoolwork, and teachers.

As Head Girl, it was Lily's duty to make sure all was well. She glanced around the room, watching two third years playing Wizard's Chest, a group of girls gossiping in the corner, and a student in the corner attempting to study. Next, she zeroed in on a couple getting a bit too comfortable in one of the chairs. She made to stand up and march over to them, but before she was even off the couch, an arm pushed her back down.

Lily turned to James with a scowl. Her annoyance only heightened when she saw that he hadn't even glanced up from his work.

"Leave it be," he told her sternly. "They're just cuddling."

"You didn't even _see_ them." Lily pouted, crossing her arms. However, she settled back in her seat.

"I did too," answered James, still not lifting his eyes from his book. "In the chair by the fireplace, she's got her legs over the arm of the chair, and they're talking closely."

"Lucky guess," Lily mumbled, sticking out her tongue.

"I saw that." James finally looked over at her, smiling. His smile faltering a little as something else caught his attention. "Oi, Padfoot, over here."

Sirius shifted awkwardly where he stood. He glanced at the portrait hole, then at James, and back again. Noticing Lily, he decided it was safe and walked over, readying himself for James' anger.

Noticing that his friend was tense, James assured him that all was okay. "Lily explained everything."

Sirius shot the redhead a look, wondering what she had told James.

"About how Summer came upstairs and you two fell asleep," Lily offered as a matter-of-factly, hoping James didn't catch her small smile or Sirius' discrete relaxation.

"Yeah, and I'm sorry, mate," James apologized, standing from the couch. "I shouldn't have accused you like that. Do you forgive me?"

"Of course," Sirius said immediately. "You have nothing to be sorry for. I'm sure it looked bad."

Lily watched as the friends shared a man hug, and merely gave a small nod when Sirius mouth, "Thank you," over James' shoulder. When they pulled away, Sirius smirked at something to his right.

"At least someone's having fun."

Lily and James both glanced at the couple in the chair. They were now more…enthusiastic about their affection. Once again, she intended on approaching them, and a second time, James pulled her back. Lily glared at the hand on her upper arm with extreme dislike.

"James, they aren't _cuddling _anymore," she stated decisively. He tightened his grip when Lily attempted to continue her stride towards them. Finally, she stopped fighting and glowered at him. "There are younger students--"

"Nobody's even paying any attention to them." James was correct; everyone else in the room seemed oblivious to the couple.

Lily gave an aggravated sigh of defeat and James released his hold on her arm.

"James is right," Sirius chimed in. Lily and James jerked towards him, both having forgotten he was there. "They could be imitating Carmen and Kevin."

At first, the statement confused Lily, and then she remembered that Sirius was already upstairs when the couple headed up there.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

_Lily could feel James' chest, defined from Quidditch, yet oddly cushioning, beneath her, the warmth radiating off his skin. These things combined created a rather pleasant place to be. She certainly had no complaints. Placing her hand on his chest in order to push herself up, she found herself keeping it there longer than necessary. She glanced at the boy beneath her and found her own emerald eyes lost in a pool of hazel. Slowly, as if it weren't even moving at all, his hand ventured through the air, until--after what seemed like hours--it was resting upon her cheek, his thumb brushing over her lower lip. She could feel her face burning as James tucked hair behind her ear, purposelessly for within seconds it was once again curtaining her face. _

_The space between them gradually disappeared until his breath fell on her lips, their eyes never breaking contact, hazel still locked on emerald. She kept the one hand on his chest--unwilling to part with its comfort--while placing the other on the considerably colder concrete floor, providing most of the support. Her lips parted of their own accord, and when he lips claimed her, the world stopped spinning. Nothing in her life had ever felt more right than this. _

_In the next second, against all logic or understanding, she was on a bed, pinned beneath a shirtless James. Her hands were shamelessly alternating between roaming his bare back and burying themselves in his unruly hair. James' soft, warm lips were pressing open-mouth kisses to her neck, his hands inching up her shirt. His name--once considered taboo--passed her lips in a guttural moan._

"_Lily," James responded…in Faith's voice?_

"_Lily, time to wake up."_

Her eyes snapped open to find Faith and Carmen at the foot of her bed, grinning smugly at her. She felt her cheeks burning. It had all been a dream; Lily didn't know if that made it better or worse.

"I thought you said nothing happened between you and James," Carmen mused, clearly enjoying Lily's discomfort. Worse, definitely worse.

"Nothing did happen. And nothing was _going_ to happen," Lily added irritably, throwing back the covers.

"I've always known James was attractive," Carmen began, licking her lips just slightly, "but hearing you moan his name made him sound so appealing."

Lily mumbled something incoherent as she trudged across the room, pushing past the girls on her way to her trunk.

"A cold shower will help you with the unquenched desire," Lily heard Carmen say as she headed to the bathroom. Lily replied with a rude hand gesture, which only caused her 'friends' to laugh.

The morning started out bad…and only got worse as it continued. While packing her books, Lily endured more tormenting from Faith and Carmen. Ignoring questions such as "So, was he a good kisser?" and "How far did you go?" In their defense, though, they did stop once Summer and Robyn started waking up, for which Lily was very grateful.

Nevertheless, they weren't done yet, and Lily knew this. The only question was when they would continue. The answer: At breakfast…in front of James and the rest of the Marauders. To be quite honest, Lily wasn't sure what Sirius had said exactly. He talking about some weird dream he'd had, something to do with hippogriffs or something, Lily had been focusing on her food, keeping her eyes on her plate as the conversations surrounded her. And in the next second, she heard Carmen saying, "Lily had a rather interesting dream too, didn't you, Lily?"

The girl's head snapped up so quickly, her eyes zeroing in on her roommate, who was grinning at her. She also noticed that Faith was fighting back a smile. The boys were also watching her with curiosity.

"Really, what did you dream?" Remus asked, his fork halfway to his mouth.

Lily felt her ears burning, she was going to kill Carmen. "Oh, it-it was nothing. Really," she stammered, her eyes drifting back to her plate.

"It didn't sound like nothing, Lily," she could hear the smile in Faith's voice. Killing them would be letting them off easy; she would use the Cruciatus Curse instead.

The boys alternated between glancing at the three girls, wondering when someone was going to tell them what Lily had dreamt. Lily sat there, quietly, wanting to melt into the floor, just waiting for the girls to get it over with. Then, Carmen dropped the bomb, relieving Lily of the agonizing wait.

"Maybe James could tell us what Lily was dreaming, he was there after all."

Her whole face was on fire, at first, nobody said anything, and then Sirius let out a bark-like laugh.

"Wait," he said through a snort. "You're telling me that Lily, here, had a dream…about James?"

On second thought, Lily wished someone would use the Cruciatus Curse on _her_.

"What kind of dream?" Sirius just had to do it, didn't he? He could have easily left it alone, but no, he had to rub salt on the wound.

Carmen flashed a smile before saying, "Well, we don't know the details, but judging by Lily's moan, they weren't doing homework, that's for sure."

"Moan?" Sirius repeated. "She moaned?"

Lily stared at her eggs, yellow and fluffy, and wondered what they would look like if she were to melt all over the table. Ironically, the one thing that lessened her humility was James' voice.

"How do you know she was dreaming about me?" he asked sympathetically. Lily could feel his gaze falling on her, and she lifted her head just enough to see him give her a small, apologetic smile.

Glancing around timidly, she also noticed that Sirius was grinning at her like a mad man, Remus was keeping his eyes on his plate, staying out of the conversation. Peter's gaze quickly dropped to his plate when he saw her looking, Kevin attempting to hide his smile, as was Dean. And Faith and Carmen weren't even aware of her looking around.

"Oh, I don't know," Carmen was saying. "Maybe it was her saying, 'James'," almost identical to the way she had said it, "that gave us a hint."

At this, Sirius surrendered to his fit, Lily could see his whole body shaking in laughter. Soon, everyone else--minus James, Remus, and Lily--were clutching their sides in laughter. Noticing Lily's scowl, Faith nudged her gently.

"C'mon, Lily, we're just poking fun. We don't mean anything by it."

The others filled in with "Yeah" and "We're just playing." Lily forced herself to smile and nod, her eyes drifting back to her plate.

The rest of Lily's day was riddled with good-natured teasing and references to her dream. She avoided all eye contact--or any contact, for that matter--with James. It was easier than one would imagine to avoid someone she had three classes with, but Lily also suspected that James was deliberately staying out of her way.

It wasn't until after dinner, when Lily was studying by herself in the library, that James approached her for the first time that day. Immersed in her reading, she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard his voice.

"Can I join you?" he asked nervously.

Lily glanced up and answered his question with a slight nod of the head. She watched as he pulled out the chair closest to her and sat down.

"It's very considerate of you," Lily muttered, her eyes dropping back to the book.

"What is?"

"You waiting until we're alone to tease me," she said, looking back up at him.

"That's not why I'm here," James assured her.

"Oh, right, you just came over to talk about the weather," Lily bit sarcastically, immediately regretting her bitterness. None of this was his fault, and he hadn't even said anything remotely derogatory towards her.

Fortunately, James wasn't one to take her tone seriously. "Actually, I came over to tell you that I'm not assuming the same as everyone else. I know that a dream can just be a dream." Lily's look of skepticism faded to bewilderment as he added, "I could never feel any type of passion for McGonagall."

She gazed at him, surely he was kidding. The way he shifted in his seat told Lily that James was, indeed, serious. Revulsion passed her face, followed by a small grin.

"Wait," Lily began, lowering her voice to barely a whisper, "you had a dream about McGonagall?"

James' ears reddened as he nodded curtly. "I have never told anyone about that, not even Sirius or Remus."

Lily's face broke into a full grin. "Well, I'm sure I'll be flattered once I get past my disgust." She had to make an effort not to laugh, or gag. "When was this? Not recently, I hope."

"No, it was back in third year, at a time when I was having to change my sheets just about every morning. Puberty was hell," he said lightly. "I couldn't look her in the eye for weeks….As I said, I've never told anyone else. It's not pleasant to talk about." He shuddered visibly. "And I only told you to prove that dreams don't necessarily reflect on how you feel in a conscience state."

"But I'm not some hormonal teenage boy. Those types of dreams aren't as common for girls. I mean, I know I like you as friend, but why would I have an intimate dream about you?"

"Well, we have been spending a lot of time together, and we've gotten to know each other. Maybe, it just signified our relationship, in a symbolic aspect. You despised me, and now, we spend more time together then we do apart. And, you have to admit, we know each other pretty intimately," Lily blushed and he quickly added. "We've spent hours talking, we know about each other's fears, dreams, families, and just about everything else. Maybe the kisses…or whatever, just symbolized your vulnerability to me, or some other mumbo jumbo like that."

Lily glanced up at him, meeting his eyes, and she couldn't help but smile. He was right, she was more comfortable around him than she had ever been with any other boy. She even felt safe around him, spending countless hours alone.

"You're pretty amazing, James Potter," she said warmly.

James grinned at her. "Thanks, you're not so bad yourself." Then his smile turned into something curious, mischievous even. "So, in this dream, I made you moan? What was I doing exactly?"

Lily groaned, placing her head in her hands. Looking back up, she glared at him.

"I may be 'pretty amazing' but I'm still a guy, one who loves ego-boosts." He flashed a grin. "And don't I deserve something for my wonderful advice?"

Lily shook her head in disbelief but Merlin help her if she could stop her lips forming into a grin. "Well, if anyone has the right to know, I guess it would be you." James' eager nod earned another shake of the head. "All we were doing was kissing. Nothing more."

She nearly smacked him when he grinned cheekily and asked, "Kissing where?"

She did, however gasp. "You're horrible!" she said in a hushed voice. "What happened to the James Potter who was sitting there a minute ago? What did you do to him?"

"That bad, huh?" Just like the day before, he feeding on her embarrassment.

Lily scowled at him, before sighing. "On the lips, okay? And the neck. And we weren't even kissing that long. It started out with us on the floor where we fell yesterday. I was on top of you, and we were just looking at each other, working our way closer. And then, just as we started kissing, the dream changed or whatever and we were on a bed." --("Ooh, a bed, I'm liking this dream." James' comment earned him a scowl.) "You…you didn't have shirt on and I was…underneath you. I was fully clothed, but your hands were under my shirt…not like far up or anything, just on my stomach. You were kissing my neck. That's when I…." Lily trailed off, her eyes no longer on James, instead studying the table.

"Moaned my name with hot, untamed passion," James finished bluntly.

Lily glanced up at him, her face hot with embarrassment. "I hate you."

James merely smiled. "I'm sorry. I just couldn't resist. In all seriousness though, I still don't think the dream has much meaning to it." Then he was back to being conceited. "But I wouldn't have minded being there."

Lily smirked. "Maybe I'll give you a preview some day. McGonagall can join too."

At this, James grimaced. "Lily, I told you out of pure obligation. You have to promise not to mention it ever again." He was staring at her as if this was the most important thing he would ever ask of her.

She let out a sigh, knowing she had to be the bigger person. "Okay, fine. I won't speak another word of it again."

"Promise?" Lily couldn't tell if it was more a question or demand.

"Yeah, I promise." Even as she said this, she noticed James visibly relax. "But you have to promise me the same thing, about my dream."

James looked as if he would protest, then he did. "But that's so unfair. It's totally understandable that you would dream about me! I mean, had it been Slughorn or somebody like that, then yeah…but it wasn't. You dreamed about someone young and desirable, you can't possible compare me to McGonagall."

"Who said I was comparing you to anyone? I've gotten my amount of grief from the rest of our friends. I've been assured by Carmen and Kevin at least five times that the dorm was ours tonight. I need one person who I can go to without being reminded of the dream." Then a smirk crossed her lips, "And besides, if neither of us are talking about our dreams, then your little secret would be less likely to slip."

James stared at her but finally nodded. "Okay, fine. I promise I won't tease you about your dream, and not because you're black mailing, but because that's what the James you've come to respect would do."

"Thanks," Lily replied sarcastically.

"So, what are you working on?" he asked, glancing at the books spread out before her.

"Nothing, really, just researching. I needed someplace to hide out." She was already closing the heavy text, standing to put it back.

When she returned to the table, James had her books and other materials packed in her bag. She thanked him and they left the Library together. True to his word, James didn't mention the dream the whole time they walked to Common Room. Their friends were another story. Carmen and Kevin were the first to notice their arrival.

"And where have you two been?" Carmen asked, smiling. Sirius and Remus glanced up from their game of Exploding Snap, exchanging amused glances.

"We were starting to wonder if you were ever going to show up," Sirius informed the couple.

Lily smiled but felt the blush creeping up her neck, her nerves calmed a bit when she felt James' hand on the small of her back.

"The dorm's ours, right?" he asked, glancing mainly at Kevin and Carmen, who both grinned.

"Yep, it's available until bedtime," Kevin answered as the others made noises of encouragement.

"Good," James said. "If anyone bothers us, there'll be hell to pay," he announced threateningly. "C'mon." He nodded to the redhead, letting her lead the way.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Lily was sitting up in her room, alone. Her books spread out before her on the bed. The others were all out with their boyfriends so she took advantage of her quiet time. The Beatles coming from the radio she had bewitched to get Muggle station filled the room… She highlighted a passage in her History of Magic book, sucking on the end of her quill before dipping it into ink and jotting down her next sentence. Just as she was reaching to flip the page, the door to the dorm opened.

Lily tore her eyes away from the text to see Summer entering the room. She didn't even seem to realize anyone else was there as she headed to her bed.

"Hey, Summer," Lily said kindly, an eye on her books. "I thought you were with Sirius."

The girl mumbled something that ended in a near sob. Lily closed the books and glanced up, noticing for the first time that the girl looked close to tears. Getting from the bed, she stepped closer to Summer.

"Summer, what's wrong?" she asked gently, reaching out.

Blue eyes filled with sadness met Lily, immediately dampening her mood. With a flick of her wand, the radio could barely be heard.

"Sirius--" Her first attempt wound up a croak. It was obvious she was trying not to cry. "Sirius and I…we b-broke up."

Lily didn't know what to say. "Oh," was the only thing she could think of. Fortunately, actions spoke louder than words so she placed her hand on Summer's arm.

Summer sniffled a few time, trying to recompose herself.

"I don't know why I'm so upset, I'm the one who broke up with him." She paused to wipe away a tear. "It just wasn't a relationship anymore….Every time he looked at me, I could see that sadness in his eyes, the guilt. No matter how many times I told him it wasn't his fault, he still blamed himself. It wasn't fair to either of us--him especially--that we stay in this 'relationship.' He shouldn't have to deal with my emotional baggage, nobody should.

"It was for the best." It sounded to Lily like she was trying to convince the both of them. "But it still hurts…That's the most confusing thing, I didn't love him, but it feels like my heart's breaking."

For the first time, Lily saw Summer as a real person, with real feelings. Sure, she had seen a softer side of her the other night, but this…this was when it had clicked that Summer actually had a heart, one that _could _break and feel remorse.

"Breaking up with someone is hard, even if you know it has to be done. What you're feeling is normal." The girl nodded, her lower lip quivering. "You can--you can even cry, if you want," Lily assured her.

The words had barely even left her mouth when she felt Summer's face buried in her shoulder, tears soaking into her shirt. Lily did the only thing she could, pat Summers heaving back. She mumbled soothing words to her.

They stood like that for a few minutes before Summer finally lifted her head and attempted to pull herself together.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, wiping her eyes with the tissue Lily had summoned. "What you said makes sense, about the breaking up, but I've never felt anything like this when the relationships ended with any of my other boyfriends. I mean, they were just guys, there was always another one. It's not like that with Sirius. It's just…not."

Lily found herself wishing James were here. He would probably say something about Summer going through so much with Sirius having a factor in her feelings. She'd actually _felt_ something with somebody and that had ended. Lily even considered going to find James before remembering that he didn't know about Summer and Sirius. The truth was, she didn't know how to help, didn't have any words of wisdom, so she just stood there, smoothing out Summer's long, brown hair.

Lily handed her another tissue.

"Thanks," Summer said, meeting her eyes. "For everything." Suddenly her eyes grew wide, and she glanced around. "Robyn isn't here, is she?"

Lily shook her head, "No, she's out with some bloke. She left about half an hour ago." She noticed Summer visibly relax. "Can I ask you something?"

Summer nodded slightly.

"Why do you hang out with her? I mean, all she does is treat you and everyone else like rubbish. And look at what she's turned you into. First year, you were so shy and kind, but now, you're just like her."

Lily watched the girl contemplate this, trying to come up with an answer, finally after a few seconds, she shrugged.

"Honestly, I don't know," she admitted. "I mean, Robyn has been my only real friend, my best friend. And I don't want to lose that. I know she can be horrid sometimes, but she's fun to be around."

"Real friends don't judge you because of your sexual experience," Lily said, letting her words hang in the air for a few minutes. "You and I both know what she would say if she was to see you like this, and that's not a real friend. Much less a best friend."

Summer nodded guiltily, her eyes truly understanding Lily. "I know, but what can I do?" she asked. "I can't exactly stop being her friend, do you have any idea what she would do to me? What kind of rubbish I'd be put through, and not just by her, but all our friends."

"It seems to me like you need better friends." Lily stepped away from Summer, returning to her bed. "I've got a lot of work I need to finish."

Summer nodded. "Thanks again, Lily." She headed to the bathroom. Minutes later, Lily heard the shower running.

The next morning, on her way out of the common room, Lily watched as Sirius walked over to Summer, he asked her a question and Summer nodded. Sirius had pulled her into a hug when Robyn sauntered over and the two pulled apart. That girl was really something else, she always had to ruin everything for everyone. Lily noticed the slight scowl on Summer's face as she walked off with Robyn.

"Hey, Sirius," Lily called as the boy turned to head back upstairs. He switched directions and headed towards her.

"So, I take it Summer told you."

"Yeah, did she give you a reason?" Lily asked.

"That right now wasn't a good time, she needed to find out who she was. But we're still friends. That was the condition, she couldn't push me away completely." He let out a bitter laugh. "Merlin, I sound like a father or something, but I just feel responsible…" He ran a hand through his hair.

"I know what you mean, that girl definitely needs someone to keep an eye out for her. And you're a wonderful person for wanting to help her."

"The only way she's ever going to truly be herself is if she dumps Robyn, that girl's at the heart of this whole mess."

Lily nodded in agreement.

"What mess?"

The two looked over to see James.

"It's nothing," Lily said quickly. "Walk me to breakfast?"

"Sure, I can never refuse the company of a beautiful girl," James said, linking her arm in a playful manner. He glanced over at Sirius. "You coming, mate?"

"Of course, I never refuse a good meal." He grinned taking Lily's other arm.

Summer was walking down the corridor alone during her free period. Truth be told, she wasn't even sure where she was, she knew the general location and how to turn around and find her way back but she had never been in this part of the castle before. Not that it mattered; she was just taking a stroll, clearing her head. Everything was so messed up right now. Everything was falling apart.

Nothing made any sense anymore. Why did she go through with it? Why was she still talking to Robyn when there were people like Sirius and Lily in the world? Maybe it was karma, she treated people like crap just to keep friends and now it was coming back to bite her in the butt. Maybe she deserved every bit of this.

She was so wrapped up in her thoughts that she didn't even hear the footsteps behind her. In the next second, an arm had snaked around her waist, holding her close to a solid form. The blood drained from her face.

"Hey, sexy," a voice hissed in her ear.

Her panic waned but not much as she was released. She turned to look at the culprit.

"Oh, hi, Michael." Michael had been Robyn's most recent boyfriend, if you could even call him that. He kind of creeped Summer out but she was comfortable enough around him. "You scared me."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to," Michael said with a slight sneer. "So, what are you doing wandering around the castle?"

"Free period. You?"

"Ditching Potions," he said carelessly.

"Yeah? That's cool, that class is kind of dumb."

"Yeah, and Slughorn's an overgrown hippogriph. Can't they find descent potion teachers these days?"

"I know what you mean," Summer agreed though she didn't really. Truth be told, she rather liked Slughorn, he was a bit…out there but he was all right. That was another thing about hanging out with Robyn and her crew; you had no thoughts of your own. Their opinion was your opinion.

"So, I heard you and Black broke up?"

Wonder where he heard that? Summer though to herself.

"Yeah, things weren't working out."

"He wasn't your type anyway," Michael said in what, she supposed, was to be a reassuring manner. Was it just her or was he getting closer? "He was too much of a pretty boy for you," he stated. His hand was next to her head and she was backed into a wall. "You need someone more rugged, who doesn't spend more time in front of the mirror than you."

"Someone like you?" Summer asked, nearly gagging at the thought. Michael was as far from her type as you could get.

"Yeah, someone like me," he said, completely missing her repulsion. "We'd make a cute couple, don't you think? I've kind of fancied you for a while, but Robyn told me to stay away because you weren't…ready for my expertise yet, but now that you've been--"

Summer wasn't even listening anymore. She couldn't believe Robyn would tell everyone that she had lost her virginity; well she could believe it because it was Robyn, after all. Still, it wasn't any of their business; it was hers and hers alone. The next thing she felt was Michael's lips on hers. She pushed him away and found herself slammed into the wall.

"What, you'll let Black have a go but not me? Too good for your own kind?"

This was not happening. It was a dream, just a horrible dream.

"Hey!" The voice echoed in the corridor. "Leave her alone!"

Summer glanced over to see Sirius jogging towards them, his wand out. Michael backed away slowly.

"Hey, it's cool; we were just having a little fun. You've had your turn, now it's mine. You have to share."

"Get out of here now! I don't think the Headmaster takes too kindly to sexual assault."

The boy eyed the wand pointed at his chest and at the scared girl pressed against the wall.

"Okay, fine. She's probably not even worth it anyway."

Sirius didn't even watch the boy leave, instead turning to Summer and doing a quick examination.

"Are you okay? You're not hurt are you? He didn't…"

"No, it's fine, Sirius, he just kissed me. I'm okay really." The girl was already shaking and in the next second, she slid down to the floor, nearly in tears.

Sirius kneeled next to her. "Summer?"

"God, I was so scared, I didn't know what he was going to do. If you hadn't come along…"

"Shh," Sirius embraced her in a hug. "It's okay, I'm here. He's not going to hurt you."

It was the second time in the past twenty-four hours that she had found herself crying on somebody's shoulder. She'd cried more these past few weeks than in the last seven years of her life. Being a friend of Robyn's, you just didn't cry. It was a sign of weakness.

"Sirius, what's wrong with me? How have I stayed Robyn's friend for so long? Michael said something about you not being my type, but…I don't even know what my type is, every boyfriend I've ever had was picked out by Robyn. How dumb am I to have stayed with her for so long?"


	13. Author's Note!

Hey everyone! So, this is about two years late, but better late than never, right? Anyway, I am SOOOO sorry, for my absence. I just realized that I wasn't updating my stories on here like I was other sites. So I'm going to start doing that now. You all are actually about six chapters behind in this particular story, so like I did with Summer Rain, I'm going to go back and revise the chapters, spruce them up a bit. You can probably expect fairly regular updates for the next six chapters or so (And when I say fairly regular I mean a new chapter every few days or so as I do need time to go back and work on them for you) After that, I will be writing the chapters from scratch so the updates might take longer but you can expect about a month of steady updates (Woohoo, right?)

For those of you who don't hate me for my absence, I greatly appreciate you sticking with me/coming back to this story. I should have chapter 13 up in the next couple hours or so. Hopefully I will get chapter 13 and 14 revised today as I am off work today but I may have plans later so we will see how it goes.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

_So, this is Heaven_, Faith thought to herself as Dean ran his fingers through her hair. They were occupying a couch in the Ravenclaw common room. Her head was resting on his lap.

When they had first started coming here, Faith had been given weird looks but now everyone was used to them hanging out. Sure, it wasn't the alone time they both would have liked but with everyone was preoccupied and nobody bothered them. She could, at any given moment, look around to see students studying, talking amongst themselves, or playing Wizard's Chess, not a soul glancing at her and Dean. Not that it would have mattered if anyone were to look at them; they were lost in their own little world.

Faith shifted her head slightly on Dean's lap. "Are you awake?" he asked, his hand leaving her soft blonde hair to rest upon her shoulder.

Faith looked up at him and smiled, "Yeah, I'm awake; just enjoying being here with you. Play with my hair some more, that feels really good."

Dean chuckled but obliged. They sat in silence for a few more seconds before Faith pushed herself up into a sitting position. Scooting closer, she rested on Dean's chest.

"Hi," she said, grinning up at him; her heart swelling up with happiness. It was small moments like this that she loved, when they got away from everyone. She loved her friends, Lily and Carmen, and she's even come to have a soft spot in her heart for the Marauders, but it was moments when it was just her and Dean that she cherished the most.

"Hello." Dean replied, unable to contain his own smile when he looked at her. "What's with the smile?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just happy. You make me happy." Faith admitted unabashedly.

"You're beautiful," Dean told her. Faith glanced away and gave a slight shake of the head. Dean caught her chin with his finger and lifted her head to make contact with her stunning blue eyes. "I mean it," he insisted. "I have never met anyone as beautiful or amazing as you."

"Wow…I don't know what to say…" Faith blushed slightly. Something Dean had never seen her do.

"You don't have to say anything," Dean told her, grinning. "I just thought you should know." He pressed a gentle kiss to her fore head. "I don't know how I made it the past six years at Hogwarts without you…I know that sounds corny but…it's the truth."

Faith was speechless. Her mind couldn't comprehend anything but "Awww!" It was a good thing humans couldn't melt; otherwise, she'd be a puddle on the floor right now. He was so sweet. He made her feel like a Princess; when she was around, he acted as if he was in the presence of royalty. Just thinking about him putting a smile on her face and the mere anticipation of seeing him again made the butterflies in her stomach flutter uncontrollably.

She wouldn't go as far to say she loved him but she was pretty sure this was as close as one could get. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. His scent engulfed her and she listened to his heartbeat. His hand gently rubbed her arm, making small circles on her shoulders.

She was so lucky. Dean was the sweetest guy in the world, when he told her she was beautiful, she believed him. She knew when he complimented her that it was just some ploy, that he actually meant it. She didn't know how she knew this but she just did. She could tell by the way his eyes lit up he saw her, and the way he held onto her as if he would never let her go; the way he held her hand so he wouldn't lose her. And when he kissed her, she knew he was thinking the same thing as her: This was all too good to be true.

Faith wouldn't even allow herself to wonder how this one was going to end as she had in the past. Probably because she didn't want this one to end, she wanted to see where it would take her. She wanted to see what kind of future she and Dean had because he was the first guy she could see herself with in five years. She didn't even want to think of the possibility of this ending. In fact, it wasn't even a thought that had crossed her mind. Every second she was with him, was the best moment of her life. Each day she found she liked him even more. She was falling for him fast. And for the first time in her life, she didn't care. She found she rather liked liking him.

Dean's voice interrupted her train of thought.

"I've been thinking…" the boy began. His voice was a little shaky, causing Faith to lift her head from his shoulder and meet his dusty grey eyes with her own.

"Yeah?" Faith said.

"Well…" he started but didn't say anything else. Faith's heart began to race, thinking of all the possibilities. He was going to break up with her? He had another girlfriend? All the thoughts and promises of the previous moments left her mind as she began to prepare herself for the worst.

"Dean…what is it?" Faith asked, pushing herself away from him slightly.

Dean's hands joined together. "We've been dating for only a month or so and…I don't want to jump into anything…or assume too much since Christmas isn't for another month…but…" She felt herself physically relax; so he probably wasn't going to break up with her. At least, that's where she hoped this was going.

"But?" she fought to hide the annoyance and anticipation from her voice.

"Okay, I was wondering if…and you don't have to…but I was thinking maybe you could come home with me for the Holidays and meet my family…" By the time he had finished, his eyes had dropped to his wrung hands.

"Oh…" Faith was speechless, and filled with joy. He wanted her to meet his parents! He wanted to share her with his family! That meant he really did like her! She fought the urge to jump up and down, squealing. She, however, couldn't keep the smile from her face. It took all of her will power to keep her voice steady as she replied with "Okay."

"Okay?" Dean glanced up at her slightly confused, taking the forced calm in her voice as something more of a question than an answer. "Okay what?"

"I'll go with you to meet your family," Faith clarified, still grinning. She watched as his lips curled into a smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah, really!" Faith grinned. "I mean, as long as you want me to."

"Of course I do!" Dean insisted. "My Mum's been waiting for me to find a girl I wanted to bring home…And I think I've finally found her."

Dean pressed his lips to hers and pulled her in for a kiss. His hands buried themselves in her hair. It didn't matter that they were surrounded by people, it was only them. They were alone in their own world. She was infatuated with this boy and she didn't care who knew.

Unfortunately, Dean was not so open to PDA, and pulled away before she had even gotten a proper taste. With a small groan, she ran her fingers through her hair.

"We need to get our own place," she said, matter-of-factly.

"Sorry," Dean muttered, he knew full well about her disposition to his opposition of snogging in public. "But I was raised to be a gentleman and groping my girlfriend in public doesn't qualify as courteous."

"I know, I know…" Faith grumbled. "That's why I'm saying we need to get a place."

"Ooh, a place…To do what?" Dean asked, grinning.

"Whatever you want," Faith said with a small wink.

Dean chuckled and reddened slightly. Faith loved the fact that he was so chaste. Merciless minutes were often spent teasing him. Even though she was about as experienced as he was, she was more open about her desires while he expressed them in more subtle ways. Dean was not like other guys. He was quiet, more reserved, while she was loud and outgoing. They balanced each other out. It amazed her how much she wanted him. She had never wanted anyone, or anything, more. She eagerly awaited the next time she could be with him and just cuddle…or kiss; even though they spent more time doing the former.

A small pout replaced her mischievous grin. "But seriously though, can't we kick your roommates out of the dorm?"

Dean chuckled. "They're studying. If there's one thing you never mess with it's a Ravenclaw who's studying."

"I know…" Faith sighed.

"Speaking of studying, I should really be getting to work on my homework. I'll walk you to your common room."

"Okay," Faith said with dismay. Dean, as amazing as he was, _was_ still a Ravenclaw and therefore took his studies as serious as the rest of them.

She disentangled herself from Dean and they stood and left the common room. On the walk to the common room, Dean grabbed her hand and smiled down at her.

"So, is there anything I need to know about your parents?" Faith asked.

"Um, no they're pretty easy going. And don't worry, my Mum's not one of those types that's overly stuck up. She's gotten used to giving her boys away to girls."

Faith smiled. "Well, she has a while before I'll be stealing you away from her."

Dean's own smile dropped. "Oh, I didn't mean…I mean, I was…I don't want to rush anything…I mean…We've only been dating a month…I-"

Faith giggled. He was so cute when he got flustered. "Dean, I was just kidding. I know what you meant."

"Oh…Okay," Dean blushed slightly, "I just didn't want you to think I was implying…"

"Don't worry about it," Faith insisted. There was an awkward silence in which only their footsteps could be heard. "So…We've covered your Mum…What about your dad."

"Oh, my Dad…He tends to think he's actually funnier than he is. Just make sure you laugh at his jokes, even if they're not funny."

Faith nodded. "I can do that. I'm good at laughing."

"You have a beautiful laugh."

Faith felt the warm feeling she always got when Dean complimented her. A few minutes later, they arrived outside the portrait of the Fat Lady. Faith pushed herself up for a quick kiss.

"Have a good night," he told her.

"You too. Bye," Faith said. She watched as he turned and walked away. She waited until he was out of sight before saying the password and walking inside.

****

"Hey, Lily, what'd you get for number 12?"

The redhead yelped in surprise and jumped away from him.

The first poke had been an honest mistake. James had merely wanted to get her attention. Her reaction is what caused the mischievous grin to creep upon his face.

"What?" Lily asked, eyeing him wearily. She did not like that look, not one bit.

"Ticklish?" he asked devilishly, scooting closer.

"James, no. I don't like to be-"

Her words were drowned out in a loud squeal as she tried to escape but found she couldn't go anywhere. The smallest movement would result in her landing on the floor. A quick assessment decided that being tickled was definitely better than having a sore bum. She curled up as James began tickling her mercilessly. His hands attacked her stomach, sides, and back.

"Please…stop," Lily gasped between giggles. "Can't…breath."

"You seem like you're breathing fine to me, Lily," James said through a grin as he continued his attack.

He watched as she squirmed, trying to get away from him but having nowhere to go. Sure, he could stop at any moment, but he was enjoying this. Adorable. That was the word that came to mind, the one that described her at this moment. Her laugh was beautiful, something he would cherish forever. He found himself laughing, he couldn't help it.

"Sorry," Faith said, walking into the room. "I really hope I'm not interrupting." She grinned at the sight before her.

"No, of course not," Lily said hastily. James promptly stopped his attack on her as the two sat up. Lily took the opportunity to punch her attacker in the arm. "We were just…" the redhead trialed off, trying to recall what they had been doing before James started tickling her.

"Doing homework!" James provided, waving a crumpled piece of parchment.

"Uh, sure," Faith laughed. "Well if you guys are done with your _homework_, I'd really like to speak to Lily."

"Yeah, we were just finishing up," Lily said nervously, standing from the bed. She glanced down and frowned slightly at her rumpled clothes. She tugged on her shirt and smoothed down her skirt.

"I could tell," Faith laughed.

Lily glared at her friend before gathering her books together. She felt James' eyes on her as she reached across the bed to grab one of her quill. She glanced up at him, slightly taken back by the look in his eyes. If she didn't know any better, she would say it was desire. But that was absurd; she and James weren't like that. They were just friends. He noticed her looking and stuck his tongue out at her playfully. She shook her head slightly, smiling. The two girls said goodbye to James and left his dorm.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Lily asked once they were upstairs in their own dorm.

Faith smiled. "Ah, I see, trying to distract me before I can make any comments about you and James…I get it…Smart move."

"Faith…" Lily said with raised eyebrows.

"Okay, okay! I'll tell you…Dean invited me to go spend Christmas with him! He wants me to meet his family!" Her statement ended in a squeal.

"Oh my God, Faith, that's wonderful!" Lily said, embracing her friend in a hug. "I'm so happy for you! His parents are going to love you."

"Yeah," Faith's voice faltered a bit. Something that Lily picked up on immediately. "Yeah, but…what if they don't?"

Bloody hell! Lily was afraid of that.

"Faith, they will. Dean seems to really like you and you make him happy. How can his parents not like you?"

"I guess you're right…But, I mean. I can be a bit…ditzy sometimes. What if I break some really expensive vase or something?"

"Faith, you are a great person. His parents are going to love you…just don't offer to help in the kitchen…or with any heavy lifting and you will be fine. I promise. Just be yourself. You're the most likeable person on the planet."

"If you say so…" Faith agreed half-heartedly.

"Faith, do not do this to yourself. I know how you are. You're get all worried and cancel the plans. Just be yourself and don't think about it too much. Everything will work out. You'll see."

Finally, Faith nodded. "Okay. I'll try not to think about it. I mean, it's like you said, Dean really likes me…"

"Of course," Lily smiled. "It'll be okay."

Now, it was Faith's turn to smile. "So, what's going on between you and James?"

Lily groaned, she knew this was coming. "Nothing. We were just doing homework."

"That's not what I walked in on," she gave a knowing smile.

"James was just tickling me; that's all. It doesn't mean anything." Lily insisted, fighting not to let her mind go back to that look he had been giving her before she left his dorm.

"Uh huh, sure. If you say so."

Lily rolled her eyes. There was no arguing with the blonde. Everyone seemed to think there was more going on between her and James and there was little either of them could say to persuade them otherwise. She could, however, walk away from the situation at hand. "I'm going to take a shower."


	15. Chapter 14

_Okay, here is chapter 14, as promised. I like this version a lot better than what it had originally been. Nothing really changed, I just added a lot more description and while I'll admit I didn't really go through the whole thing, I am quite pleased with what I did and wanted to get it posted before I go to work. So here it is. I hope you all like it, and please don't forget to review 3 Love you all! _

Chapter 14

By the time Summer made her way back to the dorms, everyone else was in bed. She snuck in, closing the door behind her quietly being careful not to wake anyone. She really didn't feel like explaining where she had been all day. After the whole thing with Michael, Sirius had taken her to the Room of Requirement where they sat and talked about everything under the sun. It had been obvious to Summer that Sirius was avoiding anything that had to do with Robyn, and for this Summer was grateful.

Summer wasn't even sure what all they had talked about. They went from one conversation to another with such ease. She couldn't recall a single awkward silence but for the one when they first got in the room. For a good five minutes, they had sat there, neither knowing what to say. Then Sirius asked if she had started on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. Somehow, it escalated from there.

The time passed and both were surprised to find that it was already nine-thirty. The walk back to the Common Room was a little quieter but not awkward, per se. It was a nice silence: one that allowed Summer to think about the day's events and clear her head.

Kicking her shoes under the bed, Summer removed her cloak, climbed into bed, and fell asleep within seconds. She hadn't even realized she was this tired until her head hit the pillow.

"And where were you last night?"

A rather unpleasant voice brought Summer to consciousness. She opened her eyes to find Robyn standing at the foot of her bed, sneering at her.

Summer froze. What should she say? She couldn't tell Robyn she had been with Sirius. Well, she could…but she didn't want to. She knew that telling Robyn would result in her friend assuming things had happened that weren't necessarily true. Of course an obvious to this would be to just tell Robyn what they had been doing. However, her time with Sirius was something special; she didn't want Robyn to mock it because Robyn would surely find it ridiculous that Summer time with Sirius talking rather than taking advantage of their time alone.

"I was at the Library," Summer lied, the words leaving her mouth before they had fully formed in her mind. "I needed to study."

"Oh," Robyn said in a tone that suggested that she couldn't fathom why anyone would set foot in a library.

Nevertheless, it got her to leave the girl alone. Summer let out a sigh of relief as Robyn turned and walked away. Pushing the cover from her body, she stood from the bed and stretched.

"You must've been out pretty late." Startled, Summer glanced over to see the Head Girl watching her with curiosity. "What time did you get in?"

"Ten." Panic set in again as Summer realized that Lily was sure to know that the Library closed long before ten.

"Curfew is ten," Lily informed her. Summer noticed something in the girls' eyes, something kind and understanding. The same _something_that told Summer her secret was safe with Lily. She would eternally be grateful and had to resist the urge to thank her roommate. "Next time just try to be in before then, okay?"

Summer nodded timidly. Catching Lily's eye, she mouthed 'Thank you.'

Lily shook her head in a Don't-worry-about-it kind of way.

"She was in by ten, Miss Prude," Robyn spat scathingly. "Therefore, you can't tell her what to do!"

Even though it would seem that her intentions were honorable, Summer immediately knew that Robyn had ulterior motives to defending her. Summer really didn't want an argument to break out and figured she could try and inhibit it. "Robyn, it's fine. Just let it be."

"No," Robyn continued. "Lily has no right to tell you what to do."

"Neither do you," Summer almost said aloud but caught herself just in time. She did, however, mumble it under breath. Something only Lily caught.

"I wasn't telling her what to do, Robyn," Lily defended herself. She knew that Summer arguing wouldn't do any good and the only way to possibly stop Robyn would be to deal with her herself. "And even if I was, I am Head Girl and have the authority to make sure that students are in their beds when they are supposed to be."

"Yeah? Well you can take that authority and shove it up your-"

"Robyn, leave it be." The three girls looked over to see Faith emerging from the bathroom, drying her hair with a towel. "Lily was just doing her job."

"Right. Sorry, I forget part of her job was acting like she's better than everyone else." Robyn shot a smirk at Lily.

Lily, however, was much too mature to take the bait. Instead she pretended not to hear her and proceeded to the bathroom. This only annoyed Robyn more and she stormed over to her dresser in a huff. Faith and Summer exchanged a look of understanding, which was interrupted by a rather loud snore emitted from Carmen's bed. The two girls both giggled but Summer noticed that Robyn was staring at the sleeping girl as if the snore had been a personal insult.

Ten minutes later, Summer was walking across the Common Room, heading for the portrait hole when she sensed someone fall into step with her. She glanced over to see a tall, lean figure.

"How're you feeling today?" Sirius asked.

"I'm okay," Summer answered, a stowaway smile crept upon her face; after the near argument this morning it was nice to see a friend who wouldn't start drama of the cat-fight persuasion. "Thanks for last night. It was nice having someone to talk to."

"Yeah, I enjoyed it too," Sirius agreed as they walked out the portrait hole.

Summer felt her smile fade slightly, a sense of doubt overcoming her. Where this feeling was coming from, however, she couldn't quite pinpoint. "Sirius, you didn't tell anyone about what you saw yesterday, did you?" Summer blurted out suddenly, surprising herself by answering her own question.

Sirius didn't look offended, as she had half-expected; instead he merely shook his head. "No, I didn't. It's not my place to tell anyone."

"Okay…I didn't either. Tell anyone, that is," Summer clarified. "Do you think I should?"

Sirius gave her a helpless shrug, wishing with everything in him that he could offer more support and advice. "I don't know. That's up to you. Do you want to tell people?"

Summer was silent for a few seconds. "I don't know. I mean, it's not like anything happened. He only kissed me. I don't want people to fuss about it. It's really not a big deal." Sirius could see that she was clearly trying to convince herself of the words she had just spoken.

"Well, just do what you feel is right," was really the only thing Sirius could think of telling her. Then, after a moment's thought, he added, "If you do tell anyone, it should be Robyn though. It was her ex after all."

Summer let out a dry laugh. She took quick surveillance of the corridor and was more than happy to note that they were alone. She guessed that everyone else was already at the Great Hall. The two had gotten a bit of a late start, after all. Her mind snapped back to the conversation at hand before adding, rather solemnly "Robyn will probably be the last person I'll ever tell. She'll ask me why I didn't go for it."

Sirius felt a fire heat up in his stomach. "What kind of friend is she if she's more concerned about you not wanting to kiss a guy then the fact that you were attacked?" Having some of the most loyal friends in the world, Sirius couldn't fathom one of his mates not caring about his wellbeing. Let alone, chastising him for not going along with something he didn't want to do.

"I wasn't attacked!" Summer asserted, immediately regretting raising her voice at him. Sirius was only trying to help, after all. She felt the shame rising up in her cheeks. She had to resist the urge to drop her eyes to the floor. After a moment's hesitation, she added sheepishly, "Look, that's just how Robyn is. She can't help it."

"Yeah, you can't blame a dog for being a dog."

Summer felt bad about the giggle that slipped from her lips. This was her best friend he was talking about. Then again, when had Robyn ever acted like a best friend to her? Summer's eyes drifted to the floor. After a few seconds, Sirius' voice broke into her thoughts.

"Do you think maybe you should tell Dumbledore?" he asked reluctantly, almost as if he was afraid of doing so.

Summer glanced up at him, she hesitated for a second. "I don't know, should I?" she asked. "I mean, it's not like he really did anything, and it's not like we can prove it. Dumbledore's not the type to just prosecute someone without evidence. It'll be our word against his and, in all honesty, I'm not really sure it'll be worth all the trouble. It really was just a kiss."

Sirius nodded. "And that was just a thought."

"Thank you," Summer remarked appreciatively, biting her lower lip, not sure what to say next.

"So, where's Robyn? Don't you two normally walk down to breakfast together?" Sirius asked, partially to change the subject from Michael and partially because he could think of nothing else to say.

"Oh, when I woke up she was ready to go and I was waiting for Lily to get done in the bathroom, so she left without me."

"Oh," Sirius replied. "Wow, that was kind of mean of her, wasn't it?"

Summer shrugged. "She's not very patient, and besides I didn't really want to deal with her questions or constant badgering." She was trying to make it sound like it was no big deal for her own sake more than Sirius'. Then it dawned on her for the first time that Sirius wasn't with his usual friends with whom he was usually attached at the hip. "What about you? Where's the rest of your lot?"

Sirius smiled. "I told them to go ahead. I wanted to walk with you, make sure you were okay."

Summer was speechless; it was a small gesture but it made her heart ache. She knew that none of her other "friends" would ever do that for her. No one cared if she was all right, especially not Robyn. If you had a problem, you dealt with it yourself. You didn't even bother whining to your friends as they would tell you to get over it. Summer smiled at him shyly. Before she could stop herself, she threw her arms around his neck, pulling him into a tight hug. She immediately felt his arms around her waist.

She really didn't know what to say, or how to express her gratitude. How could she tell him that that was possibly the greatest thing anyone had ever done for her. That he had come at a time when she had all but given up on the kindness of people. She wasn't even sure there were words to describe it all, so she settled with, "You're a great friend, Sirius," she whispered in his ear. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Sirius said as they pulled away from the hug. Summer didn't know why, but she knew that somehow Sirius knew that she was grateful, and that by waiting for her, he had showed her something she had never experienced before. "So, shall we continue to breakfast, I'm starving."

"Yeah, of course," Summer said, smiling. "I'm pretty hungry too."

A few minutes later, they arrived in the Great Hall, which was filled to maximum capacity as was the norm for breakfast. Summer walked with Sirius until she reached her group of friends. She stopped hesitantly, glancing at the group. Sirius, who had continued on, halted and turned to her upon noticing her pause. He took the two steps back to her.

"You can sit with us," he whispered to her, taking the grimace on her face to mean that the last thing she wanted to do was endure Robyn.

Summer tore her eyes away from her friends, who had yet to pay any attention to her presence. "Are you sure?"

Sirius nodded. "If I wasn't sure I wouldn't have offered." With that, the two continued their walking again.

Summer glanced back to notice Robyn glaring at her and leaning in to whisper to another girl, who also glanced up at Summer. She felt another pair of eyes on her and peered over to see Michael sneering at her. She visibly tensed. Sirius took notice and followed her gaze. He glared at the other group before putting his hand protectively on Summer's back.

"It'll be okay," he reassured as they came upon his group of friends a mere second later. "Guys," he said, catching the attention of the others. "Summer's going to be sitting with us today. I hope that's okay." Without waiting for approval of his friends, he motioned for Summer to sit down, which she did tentatively. Once she seemed settled and Sirius was convinced she wasn't going to jump up and run away, he took his seat next to her.

"Yeah, that's fine," Lily said, giving Summer a warm, welcoming smile. While the others seemed to stare at the brunette as if wondering what she was doing here, though no one said a word.

"Eat," Sirius demanded upon noticing that Summer was just sitting in her seat awkwardly, not having touched a single piece of food. Summer smiled slightly at his concern before picking up her plate and piling food on it as the others slowly went back to talking amongst themselves.

Summer felt weird being here. Though it wasn't much different than sitting with her other friends; she mainly ate in silence and listened to the conversations around her. However, one main difference was the nature of the conversations themselves. While with her friends, she sat and endured constant bad-mouthing of different people. She was always hearing about who's skirt was too short, who was wearing too much make-up, who was going out with a boy that was way out of her league.

Here, though, it was different. This lot had better things to do other than bash other people. She heard playbacks from the latest Quidditch match, talk of homework and weekend plans. Not a single negative word was mentioned about anyone. In fact, other people were only mentioned in passing.

Summer had to admit it was a nice change, sitting here, where no one criticized her for putting ketchup on her eggs, or told her that she shouldn't eat that second piece of bacon as she was bordering tubbiness already. Surprisingly, Summer found that she didn't miss sitting with her friends. She was shocked out of her trance when she heard James speak to her.

"So, Summer, what's going on with you and Sirius, are you together again?" he asked bluntly.

"James!" Lily said, slapping him in the chest as she glared at him.

"What?" James asked, eying the redhead, curiously. Since when had she become so protective of Summer? "It's just a question. I'm curious."

"If the girl wants to sit here, she can do so without having to answer any of your questions that pertain to her business," Lily hissed.

"No, Lily, it's okay. I don't mind," Summer insisted, her heart swelling with graciousness for the second time that morning, before glancing at James. "No, Sirius and I aren't back together. I just needed a break from Robyn and Sirius was nice enough to let me sit with you lot. I really hope no one minds."

"No, not at all," Faith said. "I don't blame you for needing a break from her."

"I do," Carmen said somewhat harshly, earning a glare from both Sirius and Lily, which she ignored before adding, "I mean, you act just like her. You've never been anything but a bitch to the three of us."

"Carmen," Lily sighed through gritted teeth in a resigned tone.

"She's right," Summer said, ducking her head as shame overtook her, again for the second time that morning. Jeeze, when did she become so emotional? It's like being with friends with Robyn had shut off her feelings. "I have been rude to you girls, and I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that, you've never done anything wrong to me. I was just trying to fit in with Robyn, and that's not an excuse, but I have seen the error of my ways. That's gotta count for something, right?" She forced herself to meet Carmen's chocolate colored eyes as she spoke.

"Sure, whatever," the girl said before turning to Kevin and continuing her conversation with him.

"Sorry about that," Lily apologized, glancing at Summer after shooting Carmen a glare. Of course, she hadn't expected a much different reaction from her friend. Carmen wasn't one to forgive easily and certainly wasn't one to bite her tongue easily. "She's just a little weary, we all are, but we'll give you a second chance. Everyone deserves second chances."

"Thanks," Sumer said, once again feeling a pang at their kindness. "And I really am sorry for the way I've treated you guys in the past."

Lily nodded.

"Any friend of Sirius' is a friend of ours," James chimed in, causing Lily to turn in his direction. She frowned slightly, not at his words but at the mess on his face.

"James, you have something…" she said, drifting off as she reached up and wiped a bit of gravy off the side of his mouth. It was only after she wiped her finger off on the napkin that she noticed everyone, including James, staring at her, somewhat shocked. "What?" she asked, clearly not seeing the problem. James had gravy on his face and it had been easier to wipe it off herself rather than try to explain to him where it was.

The others all gave her a knowing smile before going back to their conversations. Lily merely shrugged and went back to eating. She didn't understand why everyone had to make such a big deal about every little interaction between her and the dark haired boy. Couldn't they all see that the two were just friends instead of looking for deeper meaning in everything they did?


	16. Chapter 15

_Here is the next chapter. This is one of my favorite chapters because you get a better look at Carmen (whom I love). I was glad that I didn't have to do much with this chapter. I think it's one of my better written chapters and I remember when I wrote how easily it all came to me. Also, I just want to let you know that I had chapter a few years ago when I stopped writing this, I stopped on chapter 18 but I am now ready to move on and keep writing. I've recently developed a new plot that I'm super excited about and that actually brings my whole story together. I can't wait for you all to read what I'm planning. Please let me know what you think of this chapter. The next few chapters are all ready (except 18, I think I'm going to work on that one a bit more.) One of the next chapters is 11 pages long while my chapters usually average 7-8 pages, so I'm going to try to start making them all 11 pages but I'm not making any promises. Anywayyy, onto the story. Please leave lots of reviews and let me know what you think :D _

Chapter 15

Carmen stepped through the Portrait hole, the sound of the crowded common room filling her ears. She glanced at her watch which read five till seven. She tightened her grip on the piece of parchment in her hand. She wondered what Kevin wanted to talk to her about. Usually, they were already together and would head up to the dorms at the same time. This time, however, he had requested for her to meet him there at seven. Her mind swam with possibilities. Maybe he was planning a really special evening, to which he knew she wouldn't take too kindly. Maybe, she shuttered at the thought, he was breaking up with her.

This was something Carmen didn't want to even think about. Sure, she was a strong spirit. She was independent and didn't need a man in her life, but she was…connected to Kevin and she knew it would hurt if he broke her heart. She admitted, ashamed, that she had in fact given him her heart. It wasn't something she did voluntarily. She hadn't even noticed it was happening until it was done.

Carmen pushed the thought from her mind. If he wanted to break up with her, she would accept his decision. There was no point in worrying herself sick over it.

She paid no mind to the other students in the room as she made her way to the stairs. She had climbed these stairs plenty. It also wasn't the first time her heart had been racing with each step she took, this time however, it was more from anxiety. She didn't know why she was so nervous. He was just one bloke. Though, she never quite understood her feelings for him. Like how he could turn her into a puddle with just one look, or how he could make her want him with a smile. She loved everything about him. It had taken her a while to admit this and, more importantly, accept it.

When she reached the door, she wasn't sure if she should knock or go right in. Her hand hesitated towards the knob. Why was she so nervous? Whatever it was, it couldn't be the end of the world. She let out a sigh. She most definitely did not like this feeling. Carmen was always so sure of herself, always in control. This uneasy person she didn't know and she didn't like her one bit.

Still debating on the proper way to enter the room, she compromised. The knob was cool in her hand. She twisted it, pushing the door open slightly.

"Kevin?" she asked, leaning towards the door.

"Come in," his familiar voice called from the other side. The sound calmed her instantly. That was another thing about Kevin, no matter how anxious or angry she was, his voice almost always soothed her. He was her voice of reason when she was, at times, irrational.

She walked in the room, still a little weary. She glanced around, half expecting candles or rose petals. She saw neither. As much as she hated both, her heart dropped a little: Maybe he was breaking up with her. She noticed him standing by his bed, he looked nervous, which was also pretty rare for him. One of his appeals to her was that he was as sure as she.

"Er…have a seat," he insisted, motioning to the bed.

She eyed him while making her way to the bed. She had spent countless hours on this bed, and its familiar scent eased her slightly.

"Kevin, what's this about?" she asked after he didn't say anything. He ran a nervous hand through his hair. "Do you…are you breaking up with me?" She fought to keep the emotion from her voice. She never could've imagined it would hurt so much to say those words.

Kevin looked at her, bewildered. "No. Of course not!" His face dropped a bit. "Why…do you want to break up?"

"No, not at all!" Carmen insisted, a wave of relief washing over her. "I just thought that maybe you were. You know…with all the secrecy and stuff…"

"Well, no…I'm definitely not breaking up with you," Kevin assured her.

Carmen let out a sigh of relief. "That's good." She had learned long ago that she could show her feelings around Kevin. That, too, had taken a while. She didn't want him to think she was weak or vulnerable, and he never had. He had even seen her cry once, for a brief period. She had once felt guilty, showing emotions around him, now it came natural. "So…if you're not breaking up with me…then what's going on?"

It was Kevin's turn to sigh. He timidly sat next to her on the bed. "I wasn't sure how to do this…I mean, in my mind I had pictured when this moment came I would have candles, flowers, candy maybe. But you're much too difficult to let me do this the easy way." He grinned at her. "That's what I love about you, Carmen. You are so different from any other girl I've ever met. You are truly your own person. You are strong and independent and you don't need a man to survive. When we first started going out, I could tell that you weren't looking for a long term relationship. You hadn't even been looking for any type of relationship when we met.

"I never could've imagined that we would've lasted this long. We've had a bumpy road. You're just too damn stubborn for your own good. We fell for each other. You fell for me and that kind of complicated things. You were giving your heart to me, and that was the best gift I could've ever asked for. You're going to go far, Carmen, whether you have someone at your side or not…"

He hesitated for a few seconds. "However, I…I would really love it if you would allow me to be there with you, every step of the way."

Carmen watched with disbelief as he pulled a small box out of his pocket. Her breath caught in her throat. Words abandoned her. He slowly opened the box, revealing a beautiful, breath-taking ring. The stone inside was her birthstone, Ruby. He knew she all but hated Diamonds.

"I'm not asking to get married right after we graduate, we can give it a few years. In fact, this isn't even an engagement ring. It's a promise ring. These past few years have been the best of my life, and nothing would make me happier than to know that we had a future."

A million thoughts were going through Carmen's head. A million emotions. She was happy, of course. She loved Kevin with all her heart. What he was asking, however, she didn't know if she could handle that. He was asking for her hand in marriage, her future. He wanted to make her his. While the idea was all very romantic and ideal, it just wasn't for Carmen. She was her own person. She gave her heart to Kevin, but the rest was still hers. He wanted to take that from her. She just didn't know that she could do that.

"Kevin," she began, not sure where to go from there. "I can't," she said finally. "I'm sorry, I just…can't."

With that, she stood from the bed, leaving Kevin heart broken and confused. Carmen closed the door behind her, tears threatened to spill from her eyes. She willed them back and made her way down the steps. She ignored the rest of students in the common room and made her way up to her dorm. Another wave of emotion hit her as she took notice of Faith and Lily sitting on Lily's bed. She wanted to be alone more than anything else right now. The two girls immediately glanced up at Carmen.

"Wow. That wasn't long at all," Lily said, taking a peek at her watch. "What did Kevin want."

"Nothing, he just wanted to talk." It took all Carmen had to fight the emotion in her voice and not burst into tears at the thought of Kevin's proposal, and at her reaction. She had, quite possibly, lost the best thing that had ever happened to her. She just couldn't, however, give in to his request. It was all too much and she found herself wishing once again that the dorm had been empty.

She turned and looked at the door, half considering making her way back to it and searching for an empty corridor.

"Talk?" Lily asked, noticing the look in Carmen's eyes. "Did you guys break up?"

"I'm not sure," Carmen answered truthfully. She knew that she couldn't very well walk out of the room without raising more questions from her friends at a later time. She thought of the only other way she could be alone with the two girls in the room without raising too much suspicion. "I'm going to get a shower."

"If you need to talk, we're here," Lily assured her, worried about the dark-haired girl. Even though she knew that Carmen wouldn't want to talk. Carmen was much too stubborn to talk about her problems.

Once in the shower, the tears spilled. Carmen wasn't sure why she was crying. Maybe because she had lost Kevin forever. Maybe because her heart was breaking. Mostly, it was because she knew she had done this to herself.

The next few days, the group all noticed the awkwardness between Kevin and Carmen. Both held a sad look in their eye, neither was able to look at the other. However, no one knew what was going on. Both had insisted that they didn't break up, but neither gave any more details. Their unhappiness had considerably dampened the mood of everyone else. The others were worried about the couple. Carmen and Kevin had been attached at the hip since the middle of 4th year. All you had to do was look at the way they looked at each other to see that they were madly in love.

They were indestructible; the couple had been through more than any of the other couples in Hogwarts. They had once survived a pregnancy scare at the end of last year. It was just that, a scare, but it nearly tore them apart. They broke up for about a month, but everyone knew it was only a matter of time before they got back together. This, however, seemed more permanent, and it worried the others to no end.

Remus, Sirius and James all tried getting the details from Kevin and the same with the girls and Carmen, neither caved though. All they would say was something happened and it seemed like things might be over. Neither wanted to talk about it. They knew that their friends wouldn't understand. The guys would have no words of comfort to offer Kevin. Sure they could tell him to wait for Carmen, that she would come around, but they all knew how stubborn she was. Carmen, on the other hand, knew that Lily and Faith would never understand why she had turned down his offer.

Three days after the proposal, Carmen found an unlikely source of help. She was sitting in a secluded hallway, the only place she knew she would be alone. The common room and dorm were much too crowded. Here in this corridor, she had no one looking at her sadly. No one pitied her here. There were no looks of confusion and curiosity.

James made his way back from the library, taking a short cut he and Sirius had discovered. He was shocked to find Carmen sitting against the wall.

"Hey," he said timidly. "You okay?"

Carmen glanced up, annoyed. Couldn't she get two minutes by herself?

"Yeah, I'm fine," she insisted. She noticed James hesitate a bit before sitting down across from her.

"You don't seem fine," he told her. "Neither you nor Kevin have been fine for the past few days. All he does is mope around the dorm. What happened between you two?"

Carmen sighed; she knew this question had been coming. Everyone asked it. Even Robyn had been curious, though her question had been asked with a judgmental, nosey tone. For the first time in three days, Carmen wanted to tell James. It was strange; the two had barely spoken to each other. They were more acquaintances than friends, but something in her told her he would understand. That he knew what it felt like to want something you didn't have, and to be afraid to get it all at the same time.

Carmen sighed. "Kevin proposed to me…well not exactly. He bought a promise ring. He wants us to get married someday." It had been the first time she'd said it aloud, and it kind of felt good. It was like a weight had been lifted off her chest and she let out a breath that she felt like she had been holding for the past few days.

"Oh," James said, setting his books beside him. He had a feeling they would be here for a while. "I would say congratulations but it seems highly inappropriate. So you don't want to marry him?"

"I don't know," Carmen answered truthfully. "I mean, I love him and don't really want to think of my life without him. I mean, I know I would survive, my heart would eventually heal, but it would hurt. It does hurt," she admitted. "But marriage? He wants to make me his, James. I'm independent, I'm my own person, and I'm not sure I would be able to give myself up.

"And then of course, if we get married he's going to want kids. I'm just not the wife and mother type. I mean, honestly, can you imagine me being a Quidditch Mum? I don't know the first thing about kids." Her dark curls bounced as she shook her head slightly, a dry, dark laugh emitting from her lips.

James waited a few moments after her last sentence, wanting to make sure she got everything out that she wanted to say. He hesitated, wondering how exactly to put his thoughts into words. Finally, he spoke. "It seems to me like Kevin understands all of this already, which is why he's only asking for someday. He knows you better than anyone else and I'm sure he's figured out that this would be a tough transition for you, so he's giving you time. I know Kevin, he'll give you as much time as you need.

"You're right, though, you don't need a man. I don't think I've ever seen anyone as strong and independent as you. And this is coming from the guy who's been pining after Lily Evans for the past three years. Lily is strong, yes, and independent, but she also wants that happy ending. She wants the true love, the husband, the kids. She doesn't need it, but she desperately wants it. You don't. You would do just fine without it, but what if it's not that bad? I know you love Kevin, the whole world sees it. And believe me, we all remember how hard that was for you to admit that you loved him, to give your heart to him, but you did, because you decided it was a million times better than the alternative.

"That's exactly how this is. I know you don't think you're the type for being a wife or a mother, but what if it's better than you could've ever imagined. What if you find that you love it more than anything? You'll never know unless you give it a shot, with Kevin, because I know there's no one else you would rather experience that with. Anything else would be fake. It'll be hard, I'm not saying it won't be, marriage is a partnership, but if anyone can make it work, it's you. You're not the type to give up before giving it a shot, so you have to at least try."

Carmen nodded, "You're right." She didn't elaborate; Carmen wasn't one to spill her feelings. Sure she had opened herself to James a little, but those had been facts. She wasn't about to tell him that marriage couldn't be worse than this feeling. That her heart was breaking and she felt like she had lost the most important person in her life. "Thanks, James, you've helped me a lot. I see why Lily comes to you with her problems." She let out a small laugh. "And here everyone thought Remus was the sensitive one."

James grinned, grabbing his books once again. "Oh, Remus is most definitely the sensitive one. I just fill in every now and then."

Carmen smiled. "Thanks again," she stood up and brushed herself off. "You wouldn't happen to know where Kevin is, would you?"

"Last I saw him he was in the dorm," James answered, standing to his feet. "I told you he never leaves but to go to class and meals."

This made Carmen feel lower than dirt, she was the reason he felt this way.

"Let's walk together," James told her, "I know a short cut."

Carmen nodded. In a few minutes time, they were standing before the Portrait Hole. James gave the password and the portrait sung open. Carmen let out a sigh of relief when she saw the others sitting on the couch. They all glanced up at her and James.

"Good luck," James told her.

She could feel the others' eyes on her as she walked up the steps. She took in a breath as she opened the door. She still had no clue what she was going to say. She wasn't any good with this mushy, love stuff. She saw Kevin lying on his bed. His eyes widened and he sat up as he saw her walk into the room.

For a few seconds neither of them spoke. Their eyes locked on each other, confusion filled Kevin's blue eyes. Carmen let out the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Hi," she said quietly.

"Carmen?" Kevin asked finally. "What…what are you doing here?"

Carmen made her way to the bed. "I was wondering…I mean…I wanted to know if…if I could see that ring," she said finally, still not sure if this was the right way to go about things. She wasn't sure of any other way though, surely Kevin already knew how she was feeling, as James had said, he knew her better than anyone else, so there was no need to spill her heart to him.

"Why?" Kevin asked.

"Because I want to see it," Carmen demanded lightly.

He let out a sigh before reaching into the bedside table and pulled out the small box. His eyes still held confusion, but she also noticed the tiny sparkle of hope. His hand was shaking slightly as he handed her the box.

She opened it, removing the ring from its case. It really was beautiful. She slipped it on her ring finger, it fit perfectly, just as she knew it would.

She glanced at Kevin who looked like he was about to have a heart attack. She suppressed a laugh at his expression.

"I love that it's not a diamond," she told him. "It's a beautiful ring."

"Carmen…what exactly does this mean?" Kevin asked.

"It means," she let out a sigh. It was now or never. "That I'm excepting your proposal…It doesn't mean, however, that we'll get married right after Hogwarts. You asked something huge of me, Kevin, and I honestly don't know how long it'll be till I'm ready to give in to your request…You'll just have to hang in there and be patient with me."

"I know," Kevin smiled. "That's why it's a promise ring and not an engagement ring," he told her, pulling her into a tight hug. "You have no idea how happy this makes me, Carmen."

Surprisingly, Carmen found that she was happy too. She would never have to lose Kevin, and she was certain that someday she would be ready to sacrifice herself in order to keep him. But with Kevin, it wouldn't be a sacrifice, she just knew it.

"It makes me happy too," she admitted. A sudden urge of need overwhelmed her. Ever since she had gotten with Kevin, the two had been like rabbits, getting physical at any given moment. The depression had quenched her fire the past few days but now that all was worked out, she felt the familiar warmth spreading in her belly. She dropped the box promptly, pulling her boyfriend into a deep, passionate kiss.

A while later the two made their way downstairs. His hand was laced with hers. On her other hand, the ring fit comfortably on her finger. The small ruby put the slightest amount of weight letting her know it was always there, not that she was likely to forget any time soon.

When they made their way into the common room, five sets of eyes settled on the couple and their interlaced hands. Their friends smiled at them widely as they walked over to the couch.

"So are you two good now?" Lily asked.

"Never been better," Carmen said, unable to contain her smile as she held out her hand.

"Oh my God," Lily said, however it was Summer who stood from her seat and engulfed Carmen in a hug.

In the past couple weeks or so, Summer had been spending more time with them than Robyn. It was weird transition and Carmen was still getting used it, but she returned the girl's hug.

"I'm happy for you guys. If anyone deserves happiness, it's you two," Summer said, pulling away from the hug.

"Thanks, that means a lot to me." Carmen noticed Robyn's glare from across the room. Summer had received more than her share of nasty comments from the brunette and her group over the past few days. Luckily, they couldn't do more than make comments as either Sirius or Lily were always by the girl's side.

"So, when's the wedding?" Lily asked as Summer resumed her spot and Carmen settled herself on Kevin's lap.

"We don't know yet," Kevin said, "It's just a promise ring."

"It's beautiful," Lily said, examining the ring as Carmen placed her hands on her lap. "Can I see it?"

Carmen held out her hand, not wanting to remove the ring. She couldn't help but laugh as Lily and Summer gushed over the ring. She thought it was silly how girls always got so excited about a piece of jewelry even if it was beautiful. And Carmen sure as hell wasn't about to admit how thrilled she was to have it. It wasn't just the ring, but what it symbolized.


	17. Chapter 16

_Okay everyone, here is the next chapter a little sooner than I planned to post it. I'll make you all a deal, if I can get 10 comments in the next day or so I will post Chapter 17 just a soon. This chapter is 11 pages long and while the next chapter is only 8 pages or so, starting with Chapter 18 (which I JUST finished adding more to) the chapters will be just as long as this one. Also, I am now (starting with Chapter 19) writing from scratch so it may take longer for the updates but I have what I think is chapter 21 already mostly written so I hope to have 19 and 20 written in the next few days. Thanks so much, guys! You all are why I do this! __Don't forget, if I get at least 10 reviews in the next day or two, I'll have chapter 17 posted by Wednesday_!

Chapter 16

Lily watched Carmen and Kevin as they sat on the couch; their hands interlaced. She couldn't help but notice how Kevin stroked her friend's leg, even as he talked to the others, or how neither of them could stop smiling. Her bright green eyes fell on James and she noticed that he was also watching the couple.  
He held a somewhat proud look on his face, which caused Lily to wonder what was behind it until she remembered Carmen and James entering the common room together. She smiled to herself; of course, James had helped in some way.

He was one of the most understanding people she knew. He always helped put things into perspective for her; he had a gift for saying just the right thing at the right time. It kind of amazed Lily, to be honest, for James had not always been this sensitive. There had been a time when he would rather mock your problems than help you solve them.

She had to admit he had come a long way. Though she wasn't sure what had been the cause of this change, she was happy for it. She had grown to quite like this new James and was more thankful than anyone knew to have him in her life.

She hadn't even realized that she was staring at him until he glanced at her and smiled. She blushed slightly and looked away, embarrassed to have been caught out.

"What was that all about?" Sirius asked in a whisper, leaning towards Lily. His presence startled her slightly. She had almost forgotten she was in the crowded common room.

"What was what?" She feigned ignorance, hoping she was convincing.

She forgot, however, whom she was talking to. Sirius Black, the master of deception, with the irritating ability to spot a lie a mile away. "You were totally staring at James with gaga eyes."

"I wasn't even looking at him," she insisted defensively. "I was merely thinking about stuff and it just so happens he was in the direction I was staring." She left out the part about James being the "stuff" in which her thoughts had gotten lost. She felt it had no relevance to the conversation at hand.

"Sure, if you say so."

Lily only nodded, before she glanced at her watch with deliberate casualness, desperate for an escape.

"Wow, it's getting kind of late. I've got some homework I need to finish." She rose from her seat a little too quickly in her haste to get away from the current situation. "Goodnight, all. Congratulations, Carmen and Kevin."

The group collectively bid her goodnight and Carmen thanked her. Sirius was the only one to watch her curiously, as she walked away. It was obvious to him that she was trying to avoid their conversation.

Once alone in her room, Lily wondered about what Sirius had said. Had she really been looking at James with desire in her eyes? Sure, she was thinking about him, but it wasn't anything intimate. She and James were just friends; actually, they were a lot more than just friends. They told each other everything and she spent more time with him than any of her other friends. They were practically inseparable. They ate together, studied together, and walked to class together.

Not that it meant much; there were plenty of guys and girls that were closer than friends, but not quite that close. Like Sirius and Summer, for example, they didn't exactly fancy each other, but you could clearly see there was something more than simple friendship. He was her protector. It wasn't that way with James, though. They didn't have a past that brought them together. There was nothing to explain this little extra attachment she felt with him.

She wasn't even sure how she felt about him. She knew she liked him as a friend. Sure, there was probably a small part of her that wondered what it would be like to be more than that, but she never seriously considered it. This wasn't right though. Girls like Lily Evans didn't fall for guys like James Potter.

What kind of guy was he though, exactly? He was kind, supportive. He was always quick to help someone else and he gave the best advice and helped put things into perspective when you yourself may have problems doing just that. He was smart, responsible, funny, athletic, rich, loyal, handsome…Perfect was the word that came to mind.

Sure, he'd been a bit of a prat in his younger years, but what kid doesn't go through that? He was a very different person now. In fact, he had changed; he realized the error of his ways and made himself a better person.

Maybe he was the type that Lily fell for. Maybe he was everything she liked in a guy, and so much more. Nevertheless, did that mean she liked him? Lily was so confused. Her thoughts were all over the place and she found herself wishing she could talk to James. Wasn't that ironic, she thought somewhat bitterly, he's the problem and she wanted to go to him for the solution.

The memory of a few weeks ago suddenly came to mind, when she had wiped the food off his mouth. The others had noticed, but she didn't. Had she really become so comfortable around him that she wouldn't think twice about touching his face? The answer was yes, she had. Again, that could go back to the friend thing. He had become one of her very best friends. However, she knew there was something more there. She couldn't ignore that this felt so much different from her relationship with other guys that were just friends.

She tried telling herself it was because she had never been this close to another guy as just a friend, but she knew this to be a lie. She and Remus had become extremely close during their time as Prefects together. They spent countless hours on patrol at night. They would often hang around talking after meetings when everyone else had left. They would come to each with their problems, knowing the other would have words of wisdom and advice. He, at the time, had been one of her closest friends, and she still considered him to be such today. But it was different from how she felt about James. She loved Remus, there was no doubt about it. As was the case with James. The only difference was that with Remus she knew her love ran no deeper than friendship.

Lily had been so absorbed in her thoughts that she hadn't heard the door open. In fact, she was only aware of her best friend's entrance after the blonde tripped over her own feet and let out a stream of curse words. Lily glanced up at the girl who was clutching her foot in her hand. She held back a laugh. That girl tripped over air more than anyone else she knew.

"Hey," Lily said, smiling at her. "You okay?"

Faith glanced up, clearly unaware that she had an audience. Not that she'd had much of a chance to observe her surroundings. "Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, releasing her foot and wiggling it a bit. "I tripped over my own stupid feet. Why must I be so damn clumsy?" She let out an exasperated sigh as she removed her cloak. "Oh," she said, her mind already on another subject. "Did you hear about Carmen and Kevin? That's kind of crazy, isn't it?"

"Huh?" Lily's mind was so occupied with James that she had nearly forgotten about everything else. It only took her a second to remember her roommate's news about her future. "Oh, right," she said distantly. "Yeah. I'm happy for them."

Faith couldn't help but notice her roommates nonchalance. It was very unlike Lily, who was one of the most empathetic people she knew. Though she wasn't quite as intense as Faith who would all but absorb the feelings of those around her, Lily was usually happy for her friends. It shocked Faith that the redhead was anything less than thrilled for their dorm mate. This could only mean that she had bigger things on her mind. Faith crossed the room to sit on Lily's bed. "Is everything all right?"

"Yeah, it's fine," Lily insisted, twisting her hands in her lap. She wasn't able to look Faith in the eye, instead keeping her gaze fixed on her lap. "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Oh," Faith said. She had guessed as much. It was what Lily had been thinking about that had her so distracted. "Want to talk about it?"

"It's about James," Lily explained even though she really didn't see how Faith could help her. She couldn't even figure out her own feelings. She immediately noticed the grin on Faith's face and scowled at her. How was it that everyone else was so sure of how Lily felt when she herself couldn't even figure it out? "It's just so confusing." With a sigh, Lily put together a quick summary of the thoughts that had crossed her mind in the past few minutes.

When she finished, Faith was quiet for a few seconds, as if assessing her next words.

"Lily, it's clear that there's something more between you and James than just friendship. The whole world can see that just by the way you two interact," Faith told her gently although Lily had already figured out that everyone else knew there was something more between them. Anytime the couple walked into the room, the others would greet them with knowing smiles. "It's obvious he loves you, and you love him."

"But that doesn't necessarily mean I'm in love with him," Lily stated a little too defensively.

"No, it doesn't," Faith agreed with a nod. "But I think only you can figure that out for yourself. No one else can tell you how you feel."

Lily grumbled. "Well I wish I would hurry the hell up and tell myself how I feel," she groaned, leaning back as she put a pillow over her face.

"You'll know," Faith assured her, smiling down at her disgruntled friend. "In time, it'll become clear. I mean, you might even know now. Do you get butterflies when you see him? Does it make you jealous to see him talking to other girls? Do you feel yourself missing him when he's not around?"

Lily paused for a moment, moving the pillow from her face and staring thoughtfully at the ceiling as she considered her answer. "I'm not sure. I mean, I don't get butterflies around him. I'm not even nervous, it's like being with him is the most natural thing in the world. And as for other girls, well he talks to plenty but all of them are just friends. And there are times I find myself wishing I could talk to him about a problem. We're usually together so much that I barely have time to miss him."

"Well, for me, the way I know it's love with Dean is that every time I see him, I can't help but smile. My mood just brightens the moment his face comes into view and my heart starts racing. Next time you see James, maybe you should pay attention to these things. See if there's any change."

Lily glanced at her friend in surprise. That was actually really good advice. She loved Faith to death and her friend was always there for her, but it was rare that Faith was the voice of reason. Her usual line was "I don't know what to tell you, Lily, but I know you'll figure it out. You always do."

Faith glanced back at her friend as if waiting for Lily to say it was a dumb idea, though Lily would never put it in those words. She was quite surprised when Lily smiled at her. "I think I might just do that," Lily said.

"Really?" Faith asked. "I mean I know I normally don't give the best advice. It was the only thing I could think of."

"It was brilliant," Lily said, sitting up and pulling her friend into a hug. "Thanks."

"Oh," Faith sputtered, looking somewhere between surprised and proud of herself. Finally, the latter took over and she smiled brightly. "Well, you're welcome."

The next day, when Lily walked down to the common room to meet James, she arrived early so that she could assess her reaction upon first seeing him. She felt somewhat silly staring at the steps and she received several weird glances from the boys descending them. She was certain it looked creepy; The Head Girl standing a few feet from the bottom of the steps, staring intently. Some of the boys even hurried past her, trying not to look guilty or do anything that could get them in trouble. She smiled a little. She took her job very seriously and knew that her authority was a privilege and not a right. And though she would never abuse her power, it sometimes went to her head slightly. She felt all mighty at times, knowing that others cowered at her position, though it never lasted long before she put herself back in check. She was no better than the rest of the students and would never dream to think of herself as such.

Her eyes first caught sight of his unruly black hair. He was talking to Sirius and Remus, laughing at something Sirius had said. His lips curled into that familiar smile. She noticed the way he seemed to glide down the steps. How his bag was hung careless on his shoulder and he adjusted it every so often. He was the perfect balance between his two best friends: His tie hung somewhat loosely around his neck, his shirt tail tucked in partially. While his attire wasn't perfect, he had put more effort into it than Sirius, who had removed his tie all together and left his shirt hanging out of his pants completely. Remus, the more responsible of the three, had his tie on completely and his shirt was neatly tucked in.

Lily had been so busy studying James that she had forgotten to check for changes. Her heart rate felt the same, her legs didn't turn into mush, and she hadn't lost the ability to speak. Her mood hadn't changed much, as she had already been quite content at the anticipation of seeing him. Other than that, she had no hint as to her feelings toward him.

"Hey, Lily," he called, walking over to her. Luckily, he had been so occupied by his friends that he seemingly failed to notice she had been watching him.

She smiled at him. "Hey," she answered, noticing that Sirius was staring at her curiously. She shot him a glare and turned to James.

"Ready to go to breakfast?" James asked, lifting his bag on his shoulders. This too varied from his friends. Remus had his straps on each shoulder while Sirius was missing a bag all together. He never carried his books to class and Lily often wondered how he managed to pass them at all. In fact, he usually managed with more than just an Acceptable grade, usually getting only a mark or two lower than Remus and James.

"Yeah, I'm just waiting for Faith," Lily told him. Normally they would've walked down together but Faith insisted that she would be too much of a distraction and Lily needed to concentrate. She often had a problem knowing when to keep quiet.

"I'm here," Faith said, walking over to the group, her books pressed to her chest. "I'm starving, let's go."

The others, minus Sirius, turned to walk away. "You lot go ahead," he told them. "I'm going to wait for Summer."

"She's almost ready," Faith assured him. "Carmen's waiting up there with her. Robyn seems like she's in an unusually nasty mood."

Lily was glad to hear this. Carmen had taken the longest to warm up to the idea of Summer being friends with them. She wasn't one to forgive easily and certainly had the biggest problem with Robyn and the likes. It made Lily happy to know that they were all finally getting along and that Carmen was realizing Summer wasn't that bad. However, Sirius had a different reaction to the news. A look of concern crossed his handsome features. He hated that Robyn was so mean to Summer. They all did, but Sirius felt responsible. If he hadn't started dating Summer, she wouldn't have left Robyn and felt that she lost the only friends she'd ever known. In addition, her former best friend wouldn't hate her.

"You get your homework done last night?" James asked Lily as they walked through the portrait hole.

Lily immediately remembered that she had left so early for bed to "finish homework" and nodded.

"Yep, all done." She smiled at him, knowing it wasn't a lie, for all her homework had been completed long before she went to her room under the pretense. "What about you?"

"Of course," he answered with a smile.

Lily immediately decided that being around James didn't help her discern if she fancied him or not. She still felt all the things she remembered last night, there was no newness. There was no feeling in the pit of her stomach and her mind wasn't fogging over. Nothing. It was the same as always, comfortable and just right. They had a connection, a spark of some kind. She just couldn't figure out what it meant.

Lily decided that there really wasn't any point in trying to figure this out. Looking for signs was only leaving her frustrated and disappointed. It was as Faith said, she would know with time. She immediately let the conversation go its course smoothly, as it always did between them. The silences between them were few and far apart, and almost never awkward. The others were with them but they held their own conversation, as usual. Faith and Remus didn't seem to mind as they discussed the project and Remus asked about Dean.

"Amazing," Faith answered, more than willing to continue with Remus' chosen topic. "It's taken me a few weeks but I'm feeling more confident about going to his parent's for Christmas. I just wish it wasn't so far away."

"The next two months will go by faster than you think," Remus assured her.

The rest of the morning was about the same as any other. The others attended their classes and such. One main difference was the steady stream of people coming up to Carmen and Kevin, congratulating them on their engagement. Lily noticed how Carmen clenched her teeth each time the word was mentioned. Kevin would squeeze her hand gently and she would force a smile and thank the person kindly. It was an entertaining encounter to watch. It was also strange though, seeing Carmen hold back. She usually spoke her mind and Lily knew that Kevin had something to do with it. After the first person had come up to say they had heard about the engagement, she had snapped and said they weren't engaged. Kevin had told her that it wasn't polite to snap at someone when they were merely trying to be friendly. After all, no one they knew of in school was psychic and knew the actual situation between them.

Even funnier than these encounters was when the second person that came up to say how happy she was for the couple. Once again, the word "engagement" was used, and once again, Carmen opened her mouth to protest. Kevin had cleared his throat and Carmen rolled her eyes.

"Thanks so much," she said with an exaggerated sigh. The girl glanced at her, her smile faltered slightly, and promptly turned on her heel and walked away.

"Good girl," Kevin said, pressing a kiss to the back of her head, which resulted in Carmen snarling at him. Needless to say, he didn't make the same mistake twice. Now he merely smiled at her proudly. Luckily, after the tenth or so person, Carmen no longer clenched her teeth at the word, instead deciding people were going to use it and there was no point in getting upset.

The strangest sight greeted Lily, James, Remus, Faith, Sirius, and Summer as they walked into Potions, their last class of the day. Carmen was standing by her desk with Kevin by her side, his hand wrapped over hers. They were being congratulated by yet another person. It wasn't the situation itself, as this had been repeated countless times during the day, but rather whom Carmen was talking to.

"-heard the great news. Congratulations," Robyn was saying in a fake cheery voice the others, besides Summer, had rarely heard. Her old best friend had heard Robyn use the fake cheery voice countless times on boys, professors, and just people she wanted something from in general. Summer didn't trust that voice; it meant Robyn was up to no good. Or rather, up to more trouble than usual as she almost never had good intentions with any of her actions. The others exchanged confused glances. They walked closer to the threesome and noticed the bewildered look on Carmen's face.

"Thanks?" she said hesitantly, not sure whether it was a trick or not. She didn't trust Robyn one bit. She looked up at Kevin for an explanation but he merely shrugged, clearly as clueless as the rest of them. At last, she glanced up and noticed the rest of the group. "Hey, guys." Her face visibly relaxed, making it clear that she was thankful for the distraction.

"Hi, Carmen," Lily replied before moving her stare to Robyn. Everyone had defensively gathered around Summer. Robyn noticed this and smirked.

"It's all right," she assured them, which didn't help ease the group a bit and they stood their ground. Sirius had even placed his arm around her waist. None of them missed the look of contempt she threw Summer. She had made it painfully obvious from day one that she fully opposed the idea of Summer leaving her. "I didn't come to cause trouble. I just wanted to congratulate Carmen on her engagement," she emphasized the word, causing Carmen to narrow her eyes.

Robyn had been within earshot of the first encounter, when Carmen said it wasn't an engagement.

Typical, they all thought. Well at least they knew why she was over there. In fact, most of them were relieved that it wasn't worse. Carmen knew Robyn was just trying to push her buttons and didn't let it bother her too much. With a satisfied grin at Carmen's tense stance, she smiled and made her way back to her table. The others found their seats just as the bell rang, signaling the beginning of class. Professor Slughorn walked into the room and all chattering quieted immediately.

He called the register as he did every day. After he was done, he addressed the class.

"Today, we are going to be making Wiggenweld Potion," he explained. "These," he flicked his wand towards the black board and the ingredients and instructions for the potion appeared, "are the directions." He glanced around. "Ms. Smith, since your partner doesn't seem to be here today, you are to work with Ms. Evans and Mr. Potter. Everyone get to work."

Lily let out a groan as the rest of the class began moving around and talking. "That's so not fair," she grumbled. "Why can't she go be a cow to someone else?"

James chuckled, patting her thigh under the table. "I'm sure we'll live. You just have to promise you'll stick up for me if she starts being mean."

Lily smiled but rolled her eyes. "Oh, of course," she teased. "I know how fragile you are."

The two were laughing at her joke when Robyn sat down next to James. Lily couldn't help but notice how unnecessarily close she was. The table sat four and there were only three people currently occupying it. Robyn noticed Lily glancing at her and threw a smirk her way.

"I'll go get the ingredients," James volunteered, noticeably uncomfortable. "I'll be right back," he informed the two girls. "Try not to kill her," he whispered in Lily's ear, causing her to look at him and smile. He winked at her before heading towards the back cabinet.

"Wow, you must be totally daft," Robyn sneered, not bothering to look at Lily.

"What are you on about?" she asked, throwing a glance at her. She noticed that Robyn was studying her nails. Of course, only Robyn could be talking to someone else and still find that she was more important.

"James. I mean, it's obvious he fancies you, but you're too much of a berk to do anything about it. Pretty stupid thing to do in my book," she emphasized, making sure to let Lily know she thought the girl was an idiot.

Lily huffed. "There's plenty in your book that I don't go by. So excuse me if I don't take your advice," she retorted.

"Fine by me." Robyn shrugged, still not removing her eyes from her nails. "You'll just be a prude your whole life."

Thankfully, James arrived at this time, his arms full of vials.

"Wow, you two didn't kill each other, I'm impressed," he said lightheartedly, immediately picking up on the tension.

"What ever do you mean, James?" Robyn said, using her fake cheery voice again, finally tearing her eyes away from her hand. She smiled up at James. "Lily and I are close buddies. I mean, we've shared a dorm for seven years."

"Yeah, about seven years too long," Lily muttered to James who was once again sitting between the two girls.

James smiled at her as he set down the various items, setting the knife in front of Lily. She usually did most of the cutting; he couldn't ever seem to cut the pieces equally. Lily got out her notebook and glanced at the board. James questioned why she often felt the need to take notes on days they made potions. The ingredients were on the board and they weren't required to make note of their progress.

"Okay, first ingredient we need to add is the taproot," Lily stated as she dipped her quill in ink and jotted down the amount needed in her perfect handwriting.

"Allow me," Robyn said with a grin. She reached across James, making sure to press herself against his chest as she did so. Lily glanced up, quill still poised on the parchment. She and James looked at each other with raised eyebrows.

They both watched anxiously as she made uneven slices of the taproot. They looked even worse than when James cut them. James couldn't help but smile as Lily looked panicky; it was of the utmost importance that things be perfect for the potion to work right. Moreover, she was kind of a perfectionist.

James cleared his throat as Robyn made the last cut. "Um, maybe we should let Lily do the rest of the chopping," he suggested gingerly reaching for the knife. It admittedly wasn't one of the things he felt most comfortable doing. Though he didn't honestly believe that Robyn was capable of such violence as stabbing him, she hadn't exactly done anything to prove she wouldn't harm someone that way.

Robyn examined her work and laughed. "Yeah, those do look pretty bad, don't they?" she asked with a sheepish grin. Lily nearly choked; Robyn never admitted she was wrong. Never. She was the definition of perfect in her eyes. "Here."

She placed the knife on the table. When James reached for it, her fingers lingered a little too long, brushing against James'.

"There you go, Lily," James handed her the knife, looking confused.

This continued for the next forty minutes: Robyn brushing against James ever so slightly at any given opportunity; She laughed a little too loudly at any thing remotely funny that he said, and she smiled at him more than Lily had seen her smile in seven years. Each incident was followed by a shared, confused glance between Lily and James. Robyn annoyed Lily to no end. She had strongly disliked the girl to begin with, but to watch her flirt shamelessly with James was just plain exasperating. It was as if she was just begging for attention. Not that James was giving her much. Despite the distraction, their potion came out perfect. Slughorn commented on the color and thickness, saying that once again, Lily and James had mastered the potion.

He dismissed the class and the room was filled with the sound of people chatting while gathering their books and shuffling out of the room. Much too Lily's annoyance, Robyn followed her and James out of the room. Of course, she walked beside James. The others stood just outside; all exchanging glances upon seeing the three emerge from the room.

"Well that was fun," Sirius said, his arm draped protectively around Summer as he gave Robyn a warning glare.

"Yeah, about as fun as getting poked in the eye," James commented.

"Oh, James, you're so funny," Robyn said, pushing her hand against his chest playfully. She seemed oblivious to others raising their eyebrows. "Well, it was fun working with you, James. We should do it again sometime." She gave him a wink before sauntering away.

"What was that?" Sirius asked, still not removing his arm from Summer.

The others looked like they might gag while a scowl set on Lily's face. It had been truly revolting to watch Robyn throw herself at James like that. There was something else there too. Then it clicked in Lily's head. It was jealousy. Not of Robyn, exactly. Lily doubted she could ever be jealous of Robyn. Instead, she was envious of her actions. It was at that moment that Lily realized she didn't want anyone else brushing James' arm, or pressing against him. She wanted to be the only one.

"I don't know," James was saying. "She was like that all period."

"Yeah, we heard her-" Carmen began but Lily soon cut her off.

"James, I need to talk to you." She grabbed his arm and pulled him away from the rest of the group, ignoring the curious looks.


	18. Chapter 17

_YOU GUYS DID IT! 10 reviews in two days! As promised here is the next chapter. I hope you all like it and I sincerely hope you feel I did James and Lily's relationship justice! Thanks so much for the wonder reviews, they made my day. (Remember, reviews make me happy and a happy me likes to write -hint hint-) Please please let me know what you think. I probably won't post the next chapter as soon and I actually only have the next two chapters partially ready and I don't want to post the next chapter in the next two days and make you wait a week or longer for the next chapter. Hopefully the rest of the chapters will be coming to me quickly as I have some major plot lines coming! :D _

Chapter 17

Ironically enough, the two wound up in the classroom from which they had just emerged. Lily was happy that the professor had already left the room. Lily closed the door behind them and turned to James, biting her bottom lip. She was actually a little shocked to be standing in the empty classrooms with the dark-haired boy. It was as if someone else had taken over her body in the hall, marching over to James, and grabbing him by the arm, leading him away from the others. Now, however, she was back in control, and she honestly had no idea what do next. It didn't help that James was watching her expectantly, waiting for an explanation. She merely stared back at him, blinking once as if she couldn't believe her eyes.

Surely she was dreaming. There was no way she was standing in a deserted room with James Potter, about to spill her heart out to him.

"Lily?" James asked, breaking her train of thought. His voice sounded real enough, as did the confusion laced through the single word. "Is everything all right?" His hazel eyes stared at her with such intensity, flicking over her face, noting her every feature.

She let out a sigh, breathing for the first time since they entered the room. "I'm not sure," she answered truthfully, as the seriousness of the implications hit her. So she was in love with James Potter. She had never been in love before, never given her heart to someone so completely. In all honesty, it rather scared her.

"What…what do you mean?" James asked, taking a step closer to her.

This time, Lily felt it all. Every sign she'd been searching for when she waited for him at the bottom of the stairs: Her heart raced in her chest; her head swam with emotions ranging from happiness to uncertainty to pure ecstasy. She had to remind herself to breath, which proved quite difficult as her mind was fogged over, and she couldn't seem to form a coherent thought, much less a command your life depended on. Besides, she thought breathing was something that required no thought, apparently not.

She could do nothing but watch, mesmerized as he seemingly floated towards her. Her mind was aware of nothing but his hazel eyes that were filled with concern, his black hair that was messy as usual. She realized just how beautiful he was. And just how familiar with his movements she was. She loved it. She loved every part of him. It was somewhat strange how she hadn't even realized it happening. She hadn't even gone through the proper "crush" phase and here she was, totally in love with the man that stood before her. Though it only took him a few seconds to reach her, time had stretched out, making it seem like minutes.

Finally, he came to a stop right in front of her. His scent engulfing her, filling her senses. She could feel the heat radiating off his body he was that close. She had the strongest urge to reach out and touch him. To press her hand to his chest as Robyn had just minutes before. She wanted to run her fingers through his unruly hair, hold him close and never let him go. Her heart was pounding and she was certain he could hear it. On the bright side, she was breathing again, taking hard and uneven breaths. This he did notice.

"Lily," he repeated, his voice sounding like velvet to her.

She loved that voice too. How deep and manly it was, yet how it could sooth her in an instant, comfort her. She fought to control her breathing, which meant she held her breath. His hand reached up and ran through her hair; he loved her hair and had told her so many times. A few weeks ago, when he had started doing this, it had been weird, having him run his fingers through her long, silky hair and say it was some of the most beautiful hair he'd ever seen. Now, though, she loved the moments when they would be studying quietly and his fingers would wind through her curls, always gently, as if they almost weren't there.

It had never occurred to Lily how close they actually were. How many little movements they made that weren't the norm for friends. Like earlier when he had patted her thigh, neither of them had a second thought of the action. This only confirmed to Lily that they were meant to be, that they were like pieces of a puzzle and someone had finally put them together.

He was staring at her intently, as if by staring into her eyes, he would be able to read her mind. Which she was surprised he couldn't. Surely, her own emerald orbs were filled with love. Then she remembered that James didn't know she loved him, so of course he would be perplexed by the emotion in her eyes.

"Lily," he repeated once again, and she wondered how long she'd been mute. She knew she should speak before he feared she was permanently unable to speak, but she couldn't seem to get the words out. Half the time, she wasn't even sure he was speaking to her, she was that absorbed in her emotions. But she watched his lips move, those warm, inviting lips. "You know you can tell me anything."

She merely nodded, the only movement she could make. She knew she would have to say something, anything. She couldn't just stand here staring at him like she wanted to devour him. Before long she would probably start drooling and she definitely did not want that. Plus, he wouldn't know how she felt unless she told him. So, swallowing hard, she opened her mouth. She felt triumphant until she realized no words were coming out. Apparently this was harder than she anticipated.

Lily glanced at him, not sure what to say. She really had no experience with this kind of thing. It was all so beautiful when she read it in the novels. The scenes were always so perfect; exactly the right words were spoken. It was different when it was you, when you were providing the dialogue. You weren't sure what the right words were, or how to say them. On the other hand, it was better, infinitely better to be experiencing this rather than just seeing the words on a page.

"James," she began, his name sounding amazing, almost God-like. He made no movement, giving her as much time as she needed. The single word was a good start but she would have to keep going. "I think," she paused for a moment. How exactly was she supposed to say this? I think we're soul mates. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. I want to be the mother of your children. She almost laughed at the last one, until she realized it was exactly what she wanted. "I think…I'm in love with you, James." There, she had said it. She'd actually said it. Her relief faded a bit as she watched his reaction. She swallowed as he processed the information.

For a second, he looked as if he was expecting her to say it was a horrible joke, but one look in her eyes and he knew it was the truth. How could he not? Then the smile that she loved finally spread across his lips.

"Bloody hell, Lily," he exhaled. His hand dropped to her neck, his thumb outlining her jaw line. "You have no idea how long I've waited for you to say that."

Before she could even process what was happening, he pressed his lips to hers in a soft, gentle kiss. It was unlike anything she could ever imagine. His lips were soft and warm, covering her own. His touch was feather light, but the contact brought butterflies to her stomach. After just a few seconds, she found herself responding to him, kissing him harder. His lips moved against hers as her hand found its way to his hair.

Her heart was pounding in her chest, her mind was fogging over, her knees went weak, and she was smiling inside. This was love. This was the feeling Lily had been searching for. She knew it was real; this wasn't puppy love or a silly crush. This was the real thing. She wasn't sure how she knew it, but she had never been more sure of anything in her life. This was the kind of love that almost hurt, the kind that filled her heart, her mind, her whole body and held on tight, never letting go.

It amused Lily, actually, at how strongly this all had hit her. This morning, she wasn't even sure of her feelings for James. Now, however, there wasn't a doubt in her mind. Then, a thought crossed her mind, leaving her wondering where it had come from. Their friends were still outside, waiting for them to return. They had been gone for quite a while and the others must be getting worried. Reluctantly, she pulled away from him.

"We should probably get back before the others wonder what happened to us," she suggested, her tone making it obvious that rejoining the others was the last thing she wanted to do. But she knew it wasn't fair to the others that she and James just disappeared like that.

"We've only been gone like two minutes, Lily," James told her, smiling as he traced her bottom lip with his thumb.

"Oh…" she said sheepishly, her eyes falling to the floor as a blush crept upon her cheeks. "I guess you're right. It felt longer."

"Tell me about it," James laughed. "I about had a heart attack wondering what it possibly was that you had to tell me. Then the way you were looking at me, it only added to the anticipation."

"Yeah…I guess I did kind of go a little overboard on the suspense, didn't I?" Lily admitted. "I was just thinking through some things."

"Oh really?" James asked, staring at her. "What things?"

She stared off thoughtfully, wondering how she was supposed to put into words her jumbled thoughts.

"How…I feel cheated," she answered after a moment's consideration. His eyebrows rose slightly and his eyes filled with what seemed to be worry.

"Cheated?" he mimicked, his voice seemingly choked a bit. "Cheated how?"

"Oh," Lily gasped as she realized what he must have been thinking. "No, not about you, James! You are so much more than I ever could've imagined! It's just…well this all happened so fast. I never even realized I was falling in love with you. I never had that first sighting of love, never even had the joys of having a crush on you. I fell in love with you and I didn't even realize it was happening until it was done."

James smiled at her. "I know what you mean, Lily, because I feel the exact same way about you," he told her. "At least I got to experience a crush on you though. I've….admired you since First year, fancied you since fifth, and been completely head over heels for you since…I don't even know when. Since the beginning of the year at least. In all honesty, though, I was starting to give up hope. We've been friends for almost two months now, and it was starting to look like we would never be anything more. The others kept telling me that there was something in your eyes. That you liked me as more than a friend, but that didn't necessarily mean it was love."

"It was," Lily assured him. "I know that now." With that, she pressed her lips to his once again.

This time, the kiss was deep and sensual. She kissed him with everything she had and he returned the favor. Their bodies pressed against each other desperately. One hand was buried in his hair while the other clung to his shirt. He wrapped his arm around her waist, lifting her slightly. They were completely engrossed in the kiss, unaware of anything else. Lily closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in his kiss, his scent, his touch. She almost cried in protest when she heard him sigh and pull away slightly. His lips were still practically touching hers and she pushed toward them once again. He kissed her back a few more seconds before pulling away once again.

Lily opened her eyes, glancing up at him, her emerald eyes filled with confusion.

James sighed once again, Lily could see he was fighting not to kiss her again. "We probably should get back out there," he suggested painfully. "Otherwise they'll just barge in and interrupt us."

Lily forced herself to nod. Though a small part of her didn't care who saw them kissing, she knew that the amorous feelings would eventually wear off, leaving her thoroughly embarrassed at being caught. She wasn't one for public display of affection, and clutching to James, desperate for more was one way she didn't want her friends to see her. Especially not Sirius, she could imagine his obnoxious remarks now.

One look in James' eyes and she felt herself losing control again. She blinked, looking away. "Let's go now while I'm still thinking clearly."

James chuckled slightly. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Lily glanced at him once more before turning around. She could still feel him right behind her. Unfortunately, they were close enough to the door to see that they both couldn't walk out at the same time. He placed his hand on her lower back.

"After you."

With a sigh, Lily reached out and put her hand on the knob. She heard a slight shuffle outside the door but didn't pay any attention to it. She turned the knob and pushed the door open, stepping out into the hall, all too aware of his hand on her back. The others stood gathered just outside the door, staring at the couple.

"It's about bloody time, you two!" Carmen yelled, with a smug look on her face.

The statement confused Lily. How had Carmen known they were together? Surely it wasn't James' hand on her back; that was a gesture the others were more than used to.

"How did-" she began, confused, only to be cut off by James.

"They were listening at the door."

Suddenly, it made sense to Lily: The scuffling outside the door; how they were all standing suspiciously close to the door. Plus, there was no way they would let Lily drag James into an empty room without listening in.

Sirius flashed a smirk at Lily. "I can't believe you didn't know we would be listening in, Lily."

"Well, it's obvious now, but I had other things on my mind," she smiled up at James.

"I'm so happy for both of you!" Faith exclaimed as she enveloped her friend in a tight hug. Lily hugged the blonde girl back, just not as tight. Faith might be small, but she had a strong grip. She released Lily a few seconds later. She glanced at James with a stern look. "You better take care of her, you hear me?"

Instead of James reassuring the blonde, it was Lily, who had stepped back to James.

"Oh he will," she answered, staring up at him with a never-ending smile.

"Of course I will," he told her, pressing a kiss to her lips.

Lily couldn't stop smiling. In this moment, she felt like the luckiest girl in the world. She had a wonderful man wrapped around her, her best friends surrounding her. It seemed that even the huge corridor couldn't contain all this love. She had never felt so much of the strong emotion in her life. Her friends loved her, James loved her, and she loved all of them back. She hadn't the slightest idea of what she had done to deserve all these wonderful people in her life.

"I told you she fancied you, mate," Sirius said, walking over to clap his friend on the back. Then he turned his attention to the other couple. "Hey, maybe now that the Head Boy and Girl are finally dating, the news of your engagement will be overshadowed." He let out a bark-like laugh as Carmen gave him a death glare.

"Bugger, Carmen," Lily gasped, a horrible realization hitting her. How could she have been so selfish to think that now was a good time to start dating James? Getting married was infinitely more important that just getting a new boyfriend and it wasn't right of Lily to try and steal her friend's happiness. "I am so sorry. I didn't think. Oh, I feel just horrible for taking the spot light off you."

Carmen shook her head. "Don't even worry about it," she insisted. "In fact, I should thank you. I feel like I just want to throttle the next person who says I'm engaged. I've got my happiness," she looked at Kevin lovingly. "Now it's time you got yours."

Lily removed herself from James' side to hug her friend.

"Merlin, how did I get so lucky to have all of you in my life?" she gushed.

"We're the lucky ones, Lily." James' voice caused her to release herself from Carmen. "We have you in our lives, and you're the most wonderful person I know." Lily turned toward him, hugging him as he kissed her forehead.

Lily pulled away when she heard a sniffle. She glanced up for the source and immediately spotted Faith. Her face was red and her bottom lip trembled.

"Faith?" Lily asked, a smile playing at her lips and her amusement evident in her voice. "Are you crying?"

The blonde let out a gargled laugh. "It's just so beautiful. Love is so beautiful," she sniffled. Lily giggled and pulled the girl to her and James, engulfing her in a hug.

"Oh for the love of Merlin," Carmen sighed dramatically, though she was smiling.

Lily gave the girl a warm smile. At that moment, Faith pulled away from the hug. A small "oh" passed from her lips. Lily glanced at her to see her face contorted into something unpleasant.

"What is it?"

"Dean," Faith muttered, her eyes now wide. "I was supposed to meet him." She glanced at her watch in panic. "I'm late." She tugged Lily to her in one last quick hug. "I love you all. Bye!"

The others barely had time to bid the blonde goodbye before she was sprinting down the hall.


	19. Chapter 18

_This is the last chapter I had written, so all the new chapters will be written from scratch so I won't update as frequently even though I do have Chapter 19 done and Chapter 20 half way done (Gonna go finish it as soon as I get done with this) I have three days off coming up so based on how much writing I get done, Chapter 19 should be up in the next week or so) Please don't forget to review. :D Also, I am going to (starting with this chapter be personally thanking everyone who reviewed on the chapters. So if you don't want to read all of that, just scroll down until you "Chapter 18" and that's where the chapter will begin! :D _

**LilyHeartsJames: **_I know it took a while for them to get together, but I had to make the story interesting. I'm glad you liked it. _

**Eleos:**_ Haha, yes it was PG-13 action, and there is more to come! Wait is a lovely middle name and I love your new Signature, hehe. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and thank you for such a lengthy review. I hope to keep you as a loyal reader as your reviews make me giggle.  
_

**AriannaSaffyreMalfoy:**_ Hehe you're very perceptive aren't you? Yes they got together. I'm glad you liked it. :D  
_

**L-U-N-A 654:**_ I'm glad you liked the entire chapter. That's quite a compliment.  
_

**Lafd: **_I'm really happy you like this story, it's one of my favorite Lily/James stories I've written. Haha I love Snape too but wasn't too big on him when I started the story (that was like five years ago, after all) so he's not really in it that much. That's also why you don't see Peter at all except in the first chapter. Haha I kinda...stopped writing him in, oops. _**  
**

**Jenn222:**_ Thanks for the review.  
_

**Makayla: **_I'm updating hehe glad you're enjoying it. :D _**  
**

Chapter 18

A few hours later, it was time to go down to dinner. Lily could feel all eyes on her and James as they entered the Great Hall, hand-in-hand. Sirius had been right, news of Lily and James getting together had spread quickly and they were the new topic of interest. Not that either of them were surprised. Their fights in the corridors had been disastrous and witnessed by many. Everyone knew that James had been pinning for Lily, and they also knew that Lily had once detested him. Their finally becoming friends shocked many while others swore they saw it coming.

Lily still hadn't prepared herself for the hundreds of eyes that fell upon her and James as they walked through the doorway. The chatter and rustle of plates and food continued as they made their way across the room. Some students tried to hide the fact that they were staring, whispering behind their hand. Others openly followed their progress across the room, never averting their eyes. Lily had to remind herself to breathe. She hated being the center of attention. Luckily, James standing beside her, squeezing her hand gently calmed Lily's nerves a bit.

She hadn't realized they were at the long table until James had come to a stop. He waited for her to sit down before joining her. Their friends also took their seats around the couple. Lily felt herself blushing.

"I wish they would all stop staring," Lily mumbled to James. Her face felt like it could practically melt from the heat spreading to her cheeks. She could only imagine how red she was. She probably matched her hair. "I mean, we're just like everyone else. There's nothing special about us."

James smiled at her reassuringly as his hand patted her thigh under the table. "You are too special, Lily," he told her. "Don't worry, they'll lose interest soon enough."

And most did through the course of dinner. However, Lily could still feel a few eyes on her. She tried her best to act normal and go about eating. She had a little trouble swallowing her food and took slow deliberate bites. James thoroughly enjoyed watching as she chewed her food for much longer than was necessary and often worried that he would have to remind her to swallow. The rest of the group stared at Lily until she snapped at them, demanding that they stop at once. James had managed to hold back his chuckle, mainly out of fear that she would snap at him also.

Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, the group had finished eating. The others all wanted to stay and chat so Lily grabbed James' hand, pulling him away from the group and making her way quickly to the door.

"That was horrid!" Lily complained, sliding down the wall once they were a few corridors away from the Great Hall. "Why in the bloody hell is our getting together so damned interesting to everyone else? We're no different than anyone else."

James slid next to her, placing his hand on her arm.

"I'm not so sure that's true," he admitted, fighting to hide back his smile. "I mean, no one else had screaming matching in the corridors and then wound up dating two years later. You have to admit, our fights drew quite the crowd."

Lily sighed, a small grin planted on her face at the thought of their fights years prior. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wish they would all mind their own business. I'm sure none of them would like to be gawked at."

James shrugged. "What can I say? We're the hot new couple. Luckily, they all have short attention spans and some other scandal will grab their attention soon enough."

Lily nodded. "I hope you're right. I don't think I could go the rest of the term being stared at three times a day by the whole bloody school."

James pulled her into a hug. "Well, even if they don't lose interest, I'll always be right there next to you, holding your hand."

Lily glanced at him and smiled. She felt her heart swell up and wondered, once again, where this version of James had come from, and how she had gotten so lucky as to land him. "You're too perfect."

James laughed, "I thought we already had this conversation, I'm not perfect. Remember the pancake incident?"

Lily grinned as the image of a flustered James standing in his parent's kitchen—or what she imagined it looked like-filled her mind. She pictured the flour covering the walls and floor. "Okay so maybe not perfect, but you're pretty damn close." With that, she pressed her lips to his. The kiss was cut short by a group of fourth years walking by and giving out cat calls.

Lily pulled away from James, wiping her lips and glancing down at the floor. She felt shame rising in her cheeks. She was supposed to be the Head Girl, setting an example for the younger students. How many times had she yelled at other couples for snogging in the corridors? She was vaguely aware of a shuffling beside her. She glanced over to see James standing.

"What do you say we continue this up in my dorm?"

Lily took his hand and allowed herself to be helped up. The two made their way to the Gryffindor Tower. Once in the Common Room, they ignored curious looks from the few people occupying the room as they made their way up the steps.

Reaching the dorm, James pulled Lily to him, catching her lips with his. She responded to him immediately, pushing her hands into his hair. James picked her up princess style and carried her to his bed.

He placed her gently on the bed before lying beside her. She turned to him, catching her lips with his. He returned the kiss, wrapping his hands in her hair. Her hand cupped his face as she opened her mouth to him, allowing his tongue entrance. Her head swam with the feeling and she wanted more. She pulled him on top of her while her hands moved to the hem of his shirt. She toyed with it for a few moments before slowly pulling it up on his abdomen. She pulled her lips from his long enough to pull the shirt over his head. She wasn't sure where this desire was coming from but she wanted to feel as much of James as she could.

She tossed the material on the floor and James grinned at her mischievously.

"You don't waste any time, do you?"

She felt a blush creeping upon her face. "I…well…" she stuttered before James chuckled lightly.

"I'm just poking fun," he told her before placing his lips back on hers once again.

Lily was amazed at how he could make the room spin with a single kiss. She clung to him, desperate for more. She ran her hands over his well-defined torso, loving the way the muscles jumped under her fingers. This was the best moment of her life. It was perfect in every way. Like all good things, however, it came to an end much too soon.

She felt James' warm lips leave hers and she tried to pull him back to her. He kissed her a few seconds longer before pulling away. Lily looked up at him confused.

"What's wrong?" Before she could stop it, her mind swam with possibilities. Was she that bad of a kisser? Had she done something wrong? Was she moving too fast?

"Nothing at all," James answered. Sensing her worry, he reassured her that everything had been perfect.

Lily frowned at him slightly. "Then why did you stop?"

"I just want to lie here," he told her.

Surely she'd heard him wrong. She was offering herself for a snogging session and he just wanted to…cuddle? She was starting to wonder if the boy she fancied had serious mental problems.

"Are you serious?" she asked, raising her eyebrows at him.

"Completely," he told her, rolling off her and pulling her to him.

"Okay?"

Hesitantly, Lily wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his chest. The warmth radiating from him made it feel as if Lily had said a heat spell. It was comfortable and made her somewhat sleepy. She listened to his heart beat and felt his chest move up and down from breathing. As much as she would've liked to be kissing him, she decided that was just as nice. Every moment spent with him was wonderful, no matter what they were doing. He gently ran his fingers through her hair and it was almost more than Lily could take.

She tried to think of something to say but knew that any words would only ruin the moment. So, instead, she snuggled in closer, burying her face in his chest and breathing in his scent. The whole scene made her giddy and she couldn't stop smiling. She wasn't sure how long they had been laying there. It could've been minutes, or hours, or even days. When she was with him, time didn't exist. It was only James and her.

That is until they got some unexpected company. Sirius and the others burst into the room, not bothering to knock on the door.

"Aww," Sirius cooed. "You two are so cute!"

With a groan, Lily sat up, removing herself from James' warmth. She didn't recall her friends barging in like this when Lily and James had been friends. She swore silently to herself that if this was going to be a common occurrence that someone would pay.

"What do you lot want?" James asked, not bothering to sit up. His hand rested on Lily's back, making small circles.

"We wanted to come see what you two were doing," Sirius answered, joining the couple on the bed, while Summer, Kevin, and Carmen sat on the bed next to James'.

"I see that, but why?"

"We were bored," Sirius shrugged. A slight frown formed on his face but it passed quickly. "And we're gits and wanted to interrupt your snogging. You've thoroughly disappointed us."

"My apologies," James said dryly. He smiled to himself as he felt Lily squirm a little from the fingers on her back through the thin material. "Now can you all just leave us be?"

"Why?" Sirius asked. He, too, had noticed Lily's shudder and couldn't help but grin broadly at her, earning a glare from his best mate's new girlfriend. "You weren't doing anything. You're just lying there."

"It's called cuddling, Sirius, and it is loads better without an audience."

"Lame," Sirius told him.

"Sirius," James said, glaring at his best friend. He loved Sirius and would do anything for him in a heartbeat but sometimes he was a complete and total git.

"No, it's okay," Lily chimed. "I've got some studying to do anyway."

James glanced up at her. "Oh, okay." She could see the sadness in his hazel eyes.

"I'll see you later," Lily said, leaning down to kiss him. Then she hesitated, remembering all her friends were in the room. Before she could sit up again, James propped himself on his elbow and pulled her face to his. He placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

When Sirius began to let out a cat call, James kicked him. Sirius let out a howl but didn't say anything else. Finally, James released the blushing redhead.

"'Bye," he told her.

She was smiling from ear to ear as she left the room, avoiding everyone's eye.

Once in her own room, Lily tried to concentrate on her Charms notes. She couldn't get herself to focus. She had read the same sentence ten times and still had no idea what it said. Her mind kept drifting back to James: his lips; his touch; his warmth; his heartbeat; his breathing; his scent. She couldn't get him off her mind. After an hour, she decided that she was getting nowhere and finally shut the book, placing it in her bag. She turned off the light and rolled over to go to sleep. A smile was planted on her face as she drifted into the world of dreams.

The next morning Lily awoke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the world. She rose from bed, stretching as she walked to the bathroom and headed for the shower. Adjusting the knobs, Lily let the water reach the right temperature before stripping of her clothes. She stepped carefully into the shower, letting the water wash away the dirt and warm her body and heart. She tried, unsuccessfully, to wipe the grin from her face, but as James kept appearing in her mind, she found it nearly impossible to stop her smile. Lily finished her shower quickly, knowing, much to her dismay, that she didn't have time to linger this morning.

The sight of Summer and Faith huddled close together, whispering and giggling, by Faith's bed, filled her vision when she emerged from the bathroom wrapped in a towel. They were so lost in their own little world of laughter and gossip that they didn't take notice of the redhead.

"Good morning, girls," she greeted cheerfully. Making her way to her wardrobe, she whistled her favorite Beatles tune.

Faith and Summer shared a smile before turning their attention to the third girl, grinning broadly at her content state.

"Good morning to you, Lily," Faith returned, barely noticing a slight grimace on Summer's face as the girl quickly headed to the bathroom, before turning back to Lily. "Did you have sweet dreams of a certain dark-haired boy?"

Lily paused her rummaging through her dresser to glance back at her friend, her smile returning once again. "I sure did," she beamed, dropping the towel as she snapped on her bra. "And did you, Faith, have sweet dreams of a certain Ravenclaw?"

"Always," the blonde replied, crossing the room to her own bureau to pick out her outfit for the day.

The second of silence was interrupted as a gagging sound filled the room.

"You two are nauseating," Robyn deduced, pushing back the curtains on her four poster bed. "You should be hexed for being so cheerful and pathetic."

"You should be hexed for breathing," Carmen replied. Lily and Faith glanced up to see Carmen sitting on the edge of the bed, pulling off her pajama bottoms.

"I think someone's a little jealous that we have boyfriends and she's all alone because she's too big of a bitch to actually get a guy," Faith half whispered to Lily. She glanced quickly at Robyn to make sure the girl had heard her before turning her attention back to the sorting of her clothes, pulling out a skirt.

Robyn snorted, pulling her covers messily over her pillow, the version of making her bed. She flipped back her hair. "I've had more guys than you two combined will ever have."

"It's usually not a good thing to brag about being a slag," Carmen told her. She frowned at the mess of pillows and blankets on her bed. She was a very active sleeper. She shrugged slightly before pulling shut the curtains.

"At least I've had more than one guy look at me in the past three years." Robyn, in her normal fashion, chose not to look at the dark-haired girl as she addressed her, instead studying herself in the mirror by her bed. Lily noticed that and wondered how someone could be so vain.

"We just went through this," Carmen replied with a sigh, crossing the room clad in only her tank top and knickers. "You can't get anyone to stay with you for that long."

At this, Robyn huffed, finally understanding that she was beat three to one and there was no point in arguing anymore. Also, deciding that the call of nature was a more pressing matter. She made a beeline for the bathroom and was halfway there when the sound of its current occupant throwing up caught the attention of the four girls.

"Summer's in there," Lily told her as she buttoned up her shirt. She quickly glanced over at Faith. "Do you think she's okay? Did she mention to you that she wasn't feeling well?"

Before the blonde had a chance to reply, Robyn interrupted. "She'll just have to let me use it," she sneered, blatantly ignoring the fact that Summer was throwing up. "Shouldn't be too hard; she's always been spineless."

Anger flared in Carmen's stomach. She angrily made her way to Robyn, grabbing her arm and stepping in between the girl and the door in one swift movement.

"Summer is using the bathroom right now and you'll just have to wait," Carmen demanded, fully intent on protecting the sick girl. What the hell was wrong with Robyn? She wondered. What kind of person interrupts another's puking?

Robyn glared at the fingers wrapped around her arm. "Remove your hand from me."

"Fine," Carmen obliged, crossing her arms across her chest and standing her ground. "But you're still not going in."

"What are you? Her bodyguard?"

"No," Carmen answered. "I'm her friend." She herself briefly wondered when that had happened. She supposed it was some point in the past few weeks. Summer had shown that she had changed and had pretty much stopped all contact with Robyn and the likes. "And a damn better one than you have ever been to anyone, especially Summer. Now move away from the door before I move you." She stared down the shorter girl in front of her.

Robyn shot her a glare which Carmen returned. After a few seconds Robyn stepped back.

"Whatever." Robyn flipped her hair again before turning on her heel and walking back to her bed.

Not trusting her, Carmen remained between her and the door until Summer emerged from the bathroom. Tears had pooled around her pretty blue eyes, partly from the puking and partly from the words Carmen had spoken. It hadn't been that hard to hide the tears from Robyn as she had been charging towards the door the second she heard the knob turn. When the door clicked shut, Summer hugged Carmen.

"I heard what you said," she explained, sensing Carmen's confusion. A sense of gratitude overwhelmed her. Sirius, Faith, and Lily had friended her weeks ago, but knowing that Carmen no longer considered her an enemy touched her for some reason. "That was really sweet, and I just want you to know that I appreciate it."

"It was no problem," Carmen answered a little uneasily as the girl halted their embrace. "You have real friends now that are actually here for you. Are you okay? Were you throwing up?" she asked already knowing the answer. Being this close to the girl she could smell the toothpaste on her breath, mixed with just a hint of vomit.

Summer nodded her head sheepishly. "Yes. I think I'm okay though. I feel better. Maybe my stomach was just a little upset."

Lily, fully dressed and with her backpack on her shoulders, crossed the room to the two girls. "Do you need to stay in today?" she asked, glancing at Summer. "I can tell the professors that I excused you from class because you are sick."

Summer shook her head, grateful for the girl's offer though. "No, really, I think I'm fine. I should be okay now. I think I just ate something that upset my system a little. I'll be okay, really." Before the Head Girl could argue, she started to walk away. "I do need to get ready, though."

Lily watched her with curiosity. "Okay. Well if you're sure…"

"I am," Summer insisted, smiling at her while she started gathering her books and homework off the side table and sticking them in her school bag.

"Okay, well I'll see you lot at breakfast," Lily told them, heading towards the door. She made her way down the steps and across the Common Room, making her way to the boys' dorm. The need to feel James' lips on hers was almost more than she could take and she knew she couldn't very well snog him in the middle of the Great Hall.

As usual when heading to the boys' dorm, she received looks of confusion and forced innocence from her male classmates. She reached her destination, knocking on the door. Sirius' grey eyes met hers as he opened the door.

"Is James still in here?" Lily asked. She fought the urge to glare at Sirius as he fixed her with an amused gaze.

"Why, yes he is," Sirius informed her, grinning broadly. "Is someone feeling a little randy this morning?"

Lily blushed a little, only adding to Sirius' amusement. She ignored his last statement as she spoke. "Well, may I please see him?"

"Of course," Sirius stated. "Who am I to deny a woman of her heart's deepest desires?"

Lily rolled her eyes slightly as Sirius stepped aside and allowed her access into the cluttered room. She found herself grateful that she lived with relatively neat girls, as she usually did when stepping into the boys' dorm. She liked the Marauders well enough but they were downright slobs at times.

"Hey, Lily," a voice interrupted her thoughts.

She glanced over at the sandy haired boy who had addressed her. He was pulling on a shirt and she took quick notice of the scars on his abdomen. She fought the urge to shudder. How had he acquired something so gruesome? She knew Remus to be a gentle person and couldn't imagine him in a situation to receive such horrid injuries. He noticed her staring and blushed slightly. His small cough caught her attention and she glanced away quickly before meeting his blue eyes with an apologetic gaze. He nodded slightly before speaking again.

"James is still sleeping," he said. Lily followed his eyes to the sleeping form of her new beau.

The boy was sprawled out on his back and she fought to keep her breath from hitching in her throat as she watched his chest move up and down with each shallow breath he took. His mouth was parted slightly and his hair was as unruly as ever. Her attention was snapped back to reality as Sirius' voice interrupted her daze.

"Careful, Evans, you're almost drooling."

She glared at the boy, punching him in the chest as walked past her.

"I was just going to wake him," Remus informed the redhead. "But I figure you would like to take responsibility for that task?"

Lily nodded, walking over to the bed. She sat on the edge of the mattress and pulled shut the curtains. She ignored Sirius' taunt of "Don't forget, there are other people in the room."

She tried to get comfortable on the bed for a few seconds. James had taken up all the whole bed. She soon realized that the only way to prevent falling off the bed was to straddle the boy. "Bugger," she cursed slightly trying to accomplish her goal without falling off the bed. She was usually graceful but James hadn't left her much room to work with, and straddling someone wasn't something she was exactly skilled at.

"Oi," she heard Sirius call. "You all right in there? Be gentle with Prongs, he's just a lad."

"Shove it, Black," she warned in a deadly tone and fixed a glare on her face before she remembered he couldn't see her. She glanced back down at the sleeping boy, quite surprised that the movement and speaking hadn't woken him.

A smile soon spread across her face as James stirred a little. He shifted his lower body and the friction of his hips against her inner thighs caused warmth to spread through her lower regions. She held back her gasp as the new sensation hit her. She tucked her fiery red hair behind her ear as she leaned down, placing her hand next to his head as her other hand rested on his chest. He shifted once again and Lily cursed him as she felt a small bulge press into her most intimate spot. He was really going to have to stop doing that.

She moved her face closer to his and felt his warm breath on her face. After what seemed like forever, her soft lips pressed against his parted lips. She felt his arm wrapped around her waist. A giggle emitted from her lips as he flipped them over, placing his body on hers. She barely had time to wonder how they hadn't ended up on the floor with his movements before he was kissing her roughly.

She felt the bulge growing and grinned through the kiss. Finally, his lips left hers and she smiled up at him.

"Now _that's _a way to be woken up." It came out almost sounding like a growl from his voice being gruff from sleep.

"I thought you-"

"We're leaving," Sirius' voice interrupted. Lily could practically hear the smirk in his voice.

"Thanks for the update, Padfoot," James replied, not bothering to hide the annoyance from his voice. "We'll be down in a bit." He smiled down at Lily lovingly before pushing himself off the redhead.

Lily lay there confused. Sure she hadn't expected a long snogging session but she didn't imagine that she would only get one kiss.

"That's all I get?" she asked, trying to hide the desire in her voice. James' movements had started a fire in her belly, but she didn't want him to see how desperate she was for his touch.

James glanced back at her from the edge of the bed; he had already opened the curtain. She saw desire darkening James' hazel eyes. "As much as I'd love to lie here and snog you some more, I fear that if we don't stop now, we might very well miss breakfast, maybe even our first class of the day."

Lily could tell how hard it was for him to speak those words and not pounce on her once again. It was nice to know that she wasn't the only one with these feelings, that he returned them. It gave her a sense of pride. She nodded in agreement and finally sat up, swinging her feet off the side of the bed. James was already standing, his arms rose about his head in a stretch. Lily fought to keep control of her breathing as she watched the muscles in his back go taut.

"Thanks, by the way," Lily said, standing from the bed, smoothing down her clothes that had gotten ruffled in the encounter. She held back a laugh as James halted his progress of putting on his trousers to look back at her, confusion taking over his face. "For not throwing me off the bed when you flipped us," she clarified through her smile.

It was James' turn to grin at the redhead. "You liked that, did you?"

"Very much so. You'll have to teach that to me someday."

James turned and made his way back to his girlfriend as he buttoned up his white shirt. "I can try, but it's not an easy skill," he teased lightly.

"I'm a very fast learner," Lily retorted, enjoying their banter.

"That may very well be so, but being able to do that isn't something you can learn. You have to be born with it."

"We'll see about that," she replied, grinning up at him before he pulled her lips to his in a sweet kiss. As they pulled away she fixed a stern look on her face, or at least she attempted to. "Finish getting ready. We don't want to be late for breakfast."

"Yes, ma'am." James obeyed by walking over to his dresser and grabbing the tie off his dresser. "Just let me put on my tie and brush my teeth and I'll be ready."

Before Lily could even nod he was in the bathroom. She sat down on his bed, taking in his scent and remembering the reaction he had caused in her. How could it be that a mere twenty –four hours ago she didn't have this? It amazed her how easily she and James had taken to being a couple. She knew she wouldn't want it any other way. He was all she wanted.

_I hope you all liked it. I rather enjoyed writing this last little scene (of course I love any chance to write Sirius being a smart ass). The **BIG PLOT **__is starting next chapter so keep an eye out for the chapter! _


	20. Chapter 19

_Okay, this is the big TADA chapter. I hope you all like it. I was so ridiculously happy how many wonderful reviews I got to the last chapter. Thanks everyone. Once again, if you don't wish to read me vehemently showing my gratitude to those who took the time to tell me their thoughts, just skip down to where it says "Chapter 19" You guys are getting this a little earlier than I had planned as I've (quite surprisingly) been able to whip out chapters 20 and 21 with ease. I'm very pleased with how easily the chapters are coming along. I still have the rest of today (it's currently 5 PM) and tomorrow off so I hope to get out another chapter. I may wait to see how far along I am progressing to post the next chapter so it may be a week or so but I know you all will wait patiently for it (or so I hope) :D.  
_

**L-U-N-A 654: **_I agree, Sirius is one of the best characters. He is absolutely one of my favorites to write and he's one of my favorite fictional characters ever created. :D I'm glad you liked the chapter and I had a little too much fun writing the scene with Lily wanting more. Of course James wants more too but it's much more fun to write Lily's desire as Jame's is a 17 year-old boy and is expected to be horny while Lily is more quiet and reserved. _

**Eleos: **_I was super excited to see such a long review until I realized it was mostly quotes from the story. :P Just kidding. I LOVE when people add quotes from the story in their reviews (especially when they are quotes that I myself am quite proud of...it's amazing how shocked I am at some of the stuff I write because, not to sound conceited, it's like "Damn, that's good. I can't believe I came up with that"). Here is the quickest reply I can give to such a wonderful (and long) review. Yes, Lily can be quite scary. Haha at the image of James cross-dressing. Of course they were just jealous and James should've suggested they keep snogging (I threw that in there just because I know how much you love that word) in the middle of the corridor. LMAO at the image of someone poking another while spurting out jokes; it's all good, I love random. Damn you, why didn't I think of the "No, I'm James" line? I love a good Sirius/serious joke! Ahhh, Sirius wouldn't be awesome as he is if he wasn't a pervy teenage boy :P. Haha Sirius is full of smart ass comments. Your review was plenty insightful and I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter (P.S. LOVE THE SIGGY!) _

**Jenn22: **_Hahaha awesome rhyme. Yes, I agree, they are quite adorable. I always have a blast writing them. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter and look see, I updated :D Also love the siggy, what more could you want from life than Peace, Love, and Brownies? (Though a little ice cream would be amazing as well!) _

**Jonte Aliscious: **_Okay, I'm only going to address the second part of your review for right now. (Which probably already answers your unasked question but I sincerely hope you continue reading.) I'm EXTREMELY happy that you are enjoying the story and I'm glad you liked my approach to Lily and James (I never much care to write that she hates him and then all of the sudden loves him, that's much too boring) Haha I try not to write them too mushy, but that's the great thing about FanFic I can pretty much do what I want with it. I will address your first part of the review after the chapter, which, again, I sincerely hope you read. _

**4BlOnDiE4: **_I'm glad you like the story. I'm also glad that it appears well thought out (which it is to some extent but I have a bad habit of starting a story with not much to go on then just kinda winging it :P I blame it on my ADHD). I am also pleased to hear that it is well written. Again, as I told Jonte, I like to keep my stories original (or at least hope they appear to be original) and I'm glad to hear that most people don't think it's just another cliche L/J fic. _

_**LilyHeartsJames:** Yay, I love helping others procrastinate as it is one of my personal favorite past times :P. Hahaha I'm glad you are enjoying Lily and James being together and I hope you enjoy the next half a dozen or so scenes (not all of them in this chapter, unfortunately) written out. I'm also pleased to hear that their fighting their emotions for each other was entertaining. I hope you find them actually being together just as much. Here is the next chapter!  
_

Chapter 19

The snores of the other girls filled Summer's ears. She, unfortunately, wasn't sleeping. She sat upon her bed, the curtains drawn around her, keeping out the moonlight spilling into the room. It was completely dark and that was how Summer liked it. Part of her wished it would be completely silent also but she couldn't bring herself to say a Silencing Charm. There was a small comfort in knowing she wasn't alone, even though she had never felt more so in her life.

How was she going to tell everyone? Sirius. Oh Merlin, Sirius, the man who had stepped up in her time of need, he was going to be crushed. And what about Lily? Would the Head Girl decide she no longer wanted to be friends with someone who could do something so horrible? She sat there for a few more minutes, wondering how she was going to tell everyone. Tried to convince herself that it wouldn't be that bad. Finally, she lied down; knowing her attempts at sleep would be futile.

"Wake up, sleepyhead."

Summer slowly opened her eyes to see Carmen standing before her bed, the curtain pushed completely back. How long had she slept? No more than an hour, she thought grudgingly as she glanced at the clock. The realization of her horrible secret hit her all of the sudden and she groaned, closing her eyes and rolling away from the dark-haired girl in front of her as she pulled the covers over her head. She was suddenly exhausted and wanted nothing more than to sleep the rest of her life away in her warm bed. She didn't want to deal with what she had done. She yelped as the covers were jerked from her body with an amazing strength. Bloody hell, how was Carmen that strong?

"Breakfast starts in five minutes," Carmen informed her, sitting on the edge of the bed and bouncing slightly.

"Five minutes?" Summer repeated, alarmed. "That doesn't even leave me time to shower!" _Oh well, _she thought, _stinking isn't the worst offence I've committed. _She sat up slowly. "I'm awake."

"Good," Carmen said, obviously pleased that the girl was at least sitting up. "Now get ready."

Summer sat there for a minute longer before swinging her feet over the side of the bed. She was greeted by Lily and Faith. She briefly wondered if these girls would still be her friends a few days from now. She quickly pushed the thought from her mind as she rubbed the sleep from her eyes.

"Did you not sleep well?" Lily asked, a countenance of concern crossing her beautiful features. "You look positively knackered."

Summer shook her head, her messy hair swishing with the movement. "I couldn't sleep for some reason," she answered, though she knew the exact reason she hadn't been able to slumber.

She felt a pang of guilt as Lily glanced at her with sympathy. _You wouldn't look at me like that if you knew the reason, _Summer thought bitterly as she crossed the room to her dresser. She grimaced when she saw her hair in the mirror. It was a big ball of mess on the top of her head. She quickly grabbed her brush, running it through her mane before pulling it up in a ponytail, having little energy or desire to do much else with it. She quickly dressed and was ready just in time to leave for breakfast with Lily, Carmen and Faith.

Faith and Lily were too engaged in their own conversations to detect how unusually quiet Summer was. Carmen noticed and was about to enquire about it until they met up with the boys. It was only a second's time before Carmen was too engrossed in Kevin to question the brunette's silence.

The group all walked to breakfast together as Summer deflected questions from Sirius, insisting she was just exhausted as she hadn't been able to sleep the night before.

"Is everything okay?" he asked, worry filling his grey eyes.

Summer felt another pang of guilt. All of this was too much to handle. Surely Sirius would hate her when she informed him of her news.

"Yeah," she insisted, though her heart wasn't in it. "Just have a lot on my mind, I suppose."

"Do you want to talk about it?"

She shook her head. "No. It's just some stuff I have to deal with. Thanks though," she added, attempting a weak smile in his direction.

They soon reached the crowded Great Hall. Everyone took their seats as usual and began chowing down. Summer was chewing thoughtfully on her biscuit when a rancid smell assaulted her nose. She glanced up to see Faith holding a plate of eggs in front of her.

"Here you go, Summer."

Summer shook her head, holding down the bile rising in her throat. "No thanks," she half gagged.

Faith regarded her with confusion and curiosity. "You've eaten eggs almost every day for the past month that you've sat with us."

"I know," Summer answered, trying to quickly think of a way to decline them without raising the blonde's suspicion. "I think I've just burnt myself of them. As you said, I've eaten them every day."

Faith nodded, accepting this explanation easily. Luckily for Summer, Faith wasn't one to question many things. She was a bit naïve and tended to take other people's words at face value. Summer found herself wondering what it was like to have such a positive view of the world. She would give almost anything to not feel as if someone was out to get her at all times. She ate her breakfast of biscuits with little interruption from the others. They were all pretty lost in their own conversations and quite used to Summer eating her meal with little commentary.

Later that night, at dinner Summer found that she was rather antsy. She wanted to tell someone. She knew that people would find out sooner or later. She also had bit of a morbid curiosity to see if the others would react in the way she had anticipated. And though, logically, she knew she wasn't exactly lying to them, she knew that she was lying by omission. They had done so much for her, more than anyone else in her life, and the guilt of keeping something like this from her new friends was eating away at her. As much as she didn't want to lose them over something this dumb, she felt like she was cheating them. If they chose to stop being friends with her, so be it, but at least they would be able to make a choice knowing all the facts.

She wondered who she should tell first. She didn't want to make it a dinner announcement to the whole table at once. She didn't think she could handle that many people judging her in such a small amount of time. She glanced around at the others, trying to decide. She watched as James laughed at Sirius, who was spelling out obscene words with his peas. She could tell one of them two. From what she had heard, James was quite good at giving advice. And it was because of Sirius that she was even accepted into this group. No, she decided. It couldn't be either of them.

What about Faith? The blonde was talking to Remus and Dean about how the project was going. No, she decided quickly. Remus, maybe? He had always been really nice and she remembered how he and Lily had almost been best friends at the time of them being Prefects together. However, she didn't know Remus that well. She knew it couldn't be Lily; it would shatter her heart to see the kind girl staring at her with disdain in those bright green eyes.

Suddenly, Summer knew who it had to be. Someone who knew a little bit what it was like to be in her situation. Someone who would tell her like it is and wouldn't sugar coat how she felt.

"Carmen?" Summer said, interrupting the girl's conversation with her boyfriend. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Carmen turned her attention to Summer. She regarded her with curiosity for a second before speaking. "Yeah, of course. What's up?"

"Not here," Summer clarified, clamping her hands against each other once she realized they were shaking. She was suddenly light-headed and feared that she might pass out if she stood up. She took a deep breath, telling herself to calm down. "In the hallway maybe?"

Carmen studied the other girl, alarm and worry filling her chocolate brown eyes. She sincerely hoped Summer was okay and half considered helping the girl stand up but decided against it. Summer was a big girl; she could walk on her own. She followed Summer's lead and stood up from the table. Though Carmen didn't look like she was about to collapse on the spot like the other girl did.

Immediately upon reaching the empty corridor, Summer slid down the way, her breathing uneven and her legs weak. She buried her face in her shaking hands. She couldn't do this. What the hell had she been thinking? Why had she ever even allowed herself to be in this situation? She was going to lose all her friends over one lousy night. And it had been that, terribly lousy.

"Summer?" Carmen asked in a voice softer than the girl had ever heard the other speak in. "Are you…are you okay? Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?"

Summer bit back a bitter laugh, if only Carmen knew the irony of what she was asking. If she had never gone to the hospital wing, she would blissfully ignorant right now and wouldn't even be having this conversation.

"No, I'm okay," Summer answered, her voice wavering a bit. "I'm just a little nervous."

"Nervous? Why? What's wrong, Summer?" Carmen asked.

Summer took a deep breath, preparing herself for what came next. What had to come next. She had to do it. She couldn't very well tell Carmen "nevermind" and go back into the Great Hall as if nothing was wrong. She opened her mouth to speak but no words came out. Merlin, why was this so difficult? She was just going to have to say it. _Don't think, just speak _she told herself.

She turned her head from the girl's intense stare. Squeezing her eyes shut, she opened her mouth once again. The words flew out of her mouth before she had a second to think about them or reconsider. "I'm pregnant."

_Summer walked up the steps to the Hospital wing, fighting a mental battle with herself. It had taken all her will power to continue up the stairs and not turn around and run as fast she could. Run until this was all behind her and could never catch her. She knew that was impossible though; she could run as much as she wanted but it wasn't going to change anything. She had to know the truth. Something wasn't quite right and she knew it in her heart. There was something weird going on with her body and though she had a good idea what it was, she desperately wished it was something else. Anything else._

Let it be the stomach flu_, she thought hopefully, as hope was all she had at this point. Unfortunately, she knew that the stomach flu didn't cause you to be a week late with your period. _Or cancer _she toyed with the idea. Yeah, cancer wasn't something that was her fault. Cancer didn't remind her of the most shameful thing she had done in her life. _

_She walked into the hospital wing. Madam Pomfrey was bent over another student in one of the cots. She was a fairly young witch though she had been at Hogwarts since Summer and the others had started attending the magical school. Her pretty face turned to regard Summer with her brown eyes. She took one look at the newcomer and alarm forced itself onto her features. _

_Summer stood in the door way until Madam Pomfrey made her way to the light-haired girl. Summer turned her attention to studying the woman. Her brown hair was pulled into a tight bun, not unlike the one McGonagall wore. _

_Before Pomfrey had a chance to speak, Summer opened her mouth. "Is it okay if we go into the backroom? I'm a little nervous." _

"_Of course," Madam Pomfrey obliged immediately, leading the girl past the other two students lying in the beds. Luckily for Summer, one was sleeping and the other seemed to be in too much of a drugged state to notice her. _

"_Lie down," Madam Pomfrey instructed sternly. Summer obeyed immediately, she placed her hands on her stomach and began fiddling with her fingers. "You're all clammy and pale. What seems to be problem, miss…"_

"_Johnson," Summer answered after a second, realizing the woman was inquiring about her name. "Summer Johnson." She almost whispered her words, terrified that someone would hear her and spill her secret. _

"_All right, Summer," Pomfrey said, walking up to the girl, pressing a wet rag to her forehead. _

"_IthinkI'mpregnant," Summer said in one breath though she knew the madam had understood her perfectly. _

"_Oh, dear." _

_Before Madam Pomfrey could say anything else, Summer was speaking again. "I've been getting sick a lot lately, and my period is late." _

_Madam Pomfrey nodded, ever the epitome of professional, she was. "Well, let's first find out if you are in fact pregnant." _

_Summer sat ramrod still, only moving her hands to scoot them up closer to her chest as Madam Pomfrey requested. The woman gently pushed Summer's shirt up from her stomach, bunching it close her ribs. Summer shuddered as the Healers cold hands brushed against her bare flesh. _

_Madam Pomfrey pulled out her wand. "This won't hurt, though you may feel a bit of an odd sensation." Madam Pomfrey pointed her wand at Summer's stomach and muttered an incantation. _

_Summer had a feeling she could best describe as a squirm. She glanced down at her stomach to see what looked like a piece of rice glowing brightly beneath her skin. She tore her eyes away from it to look at Madam Pomfrey, whose own face held a look of sympathy. _

"_Is that…Am I?" Summer stuttered, unable to even say the words. _

_Madam Pomfrey nodded slightly, setting her wand down. "You are pregnant, Miss Johnson." Before Summer even had time to let her head swim with possibilities, Madam Pomfrey was speaking again. "You look to be about six weeks." _

_That caught Summer's attention. That wasn't right, _couldn't _be right. she had done the math in her head days ago. It..it wasn't possible. _

"_Six?" she repeated, hoping with everything she had in her that she had simply misheard the woman. "Are you sure it's not seven?" _

_Madam Pomfrey shook her head, "I'd bet my wand that, based on the size and your symptoms, you are six weeks pregnant." _

_Summer's head spun. Things had just gone from bad to worse. She hadn't even considered this possibility. She was sure with everything in her that Sirius was the father of this baby and had barely even allowed her to think of the other option. She felt the bile rising in her throat and leaned over the edge of the bed, throwing up violently. _

"_Sorry," she apologized, spitting out the remaining vomit in her mouth, willing herself not to throw up again, which was quite a task considering the vile taste in her mouth. "I'm so sorry." _

"_Not a worry, dear," Madam Pomfrey insisted, handing Summer a glass of water before clearing up the mess with a swish of her wand. _

_She perched herself on the girl's bed, replacing the rag that had been on the girl's forehead. "Do you know who the father is?" _

"_Yeah, I do," Summer lied, not wanting the woman to think her any more of a tart than she must already. _

"_Do you think he will be supportive?" _

"_I don't know," Summer answered, wondering how she was even able to comprehend what the woman was saying as her mind raced with emotions. _

_She was briefly aware of the woman standing from the bed as she rested her head back onto the pillow and closed her eyes. What was she going to do? Could she handle all of this? Surely her family would disown her, they already thought her to be a nuisance as it was. _

_She was vaguely aware of Madam Pomfrey speaking, "Oh, one more thing. I'm not even sure this will work but it's worth a—"_

_A _thump thump thump _broke Summer out of her deep thoughts, snapping her to attention at once. Her eyes flew open and she glanced at the Healer. "What's that?" _

_Madam Pomfrey smiled down at the girl for the first time. "That's your baby's heartbeat." _

_It was then that Summer knew this baby was her whole world. She would love and protect this child with everything she had in her. It didn't matter that this was possibly the worst time and that things were even worse than she had anticipated. This was her flesh and blood and it was now the most precious thing she had ever possessed in her entire life. _

Carmen, not meaning to, gawked at the girl, her brown eyes wide in disbelief and a hint of pity. "Wow…I…I mean…are you sure?" Carmen asked, finally able to form a coherent thought. She wasn't sure what she had expected the girl to tell but she was sure that, even given a million years, she would've never guessed it was _this_.

Summer nodded, biting her lip, turning her head towards the other girl slightly when she hadn't immediately called her a slag and ran off to tell the others of her secret. "I went to the Healer last night after dinner. When I said I was going to the library," she clarified upon seeing the confusion in the girl's eyes.

"Oh," Carmen spoke suddenly. "Well why didn't you tell anyone? I'm sure one of us would've gone with you."

"I didn't want anyone to know," Summer insisted. "I thought everyone would judge me. I'm still worried what the others will think." She visibly relaxed, finally letting herself believe that Carmen wasn't condemning her.

"Do you really think we are that horrible?" Carmen asked, feeling her anger level rise. "I mean, are we that shallow that we would judge you for something this dumb? I mean, most of us have had sex so it's not like we are Super Prudes or something."

Summer's head lowered immediately, shame rising in her cheeks at being yelled at. She had never been one to handle people raising their voices at her. Having Carmen scold her like this made her feel like she was five years old again, being punished for spilling milk. She added to it, chiding herself for automatically assuming that she would be prosecuted for her actions.

"I—I guess I'm just so used to hanging out with Robyn and her crew and being judged for everything I do," she defended herself quietly, feeling even more rotten for comparing the two groups.

"We. Are. Not. Robyn's. Crew," Carmen declared in a low, harsh voice that, quite frankly, scared Summer more than Carmen yelling.

Summer felt the tears well up in her eyes. It was all too much. She was slightly relieved that Carmen hadn't immediately turned her back on the girl. She was still scared shitless about being pregnant. And she was allowing herself to feel a small amount of joy that she was going to have the others there to help her through this. "I know…I know," she whispered, saying the only thing she could think to defend herself.

Carmen's anger dissipated quickly at seeing the tears form in Summer's eyes. She felt just a little bit of shame at being so tough on the brunette. Summer had trusted her with a secret she had told no one else and for that Carmen was touched. She knew that she and Summer hadn't had the best history and had only just recently considered themselves friends.

"It's okay," Carmen assured the emotional girl. "You just have to get out of that mindset that we are like your old friends because we aren't. We pride ourselves in sharing as few traits as possible with Robyn and the likes." It was her attempt to cheer up the distraught girl and Carmen wasn't sure how well it had worked. "So, who's the father?" Carmen blurted out. She had never been one to beat around the bush.

Summer's face turned into a frown once more. "I thought it was Sirius…" she paused slightly. This was perhaps the part she was most ashamed about. "But…it's not."

Carmen regarded her with confusion. She thought Sirius was the only person the other girl had slept with. She waited a moment longer for the girl to speak, not wanting to cause her to clam up. Carmen had to literally bite her tongue to keep from pushing the girl to go on.

"About a week after I slept with Sirius, I was a mess," she continued so quietly that Carmen had to lean in to hear her. "I had lost my virginity before I'd wanted to and I was just starting to pull away from Robyn, the only friend I'd ever known." Quickly she added, "Don't get me wrong, Sirius and Lily were great. They were more than I ever could've asked for, but Robyn had been my friend for the past six years." She took a deep breath, knowing the next part was going to be the most difficult. "So. So, one night, I got really drunk and I…Merlin, this is harder than I thought It was going to be. I…" Summer dropped her head in shame, unable to bring herself to say the words.

"You slept with some random bloke?" Carmen offered, as kindly as she possibly could.

Summer dropped her gaze to the floor, studying the concrete under her feet. She bit her bottom lip before moving her head up and down with the smallest movements.

"And you don't know who it is?" Carmen asked lightly.

Summer shook her head, feeling the tears well up in her eyes once again. "I was too drunk and it was dark."

"Oh," Carmen replied with the only thing of which she could think. She had no idea what words of comfort to offer Summer or how to react so as not to offend her. She wasn't judging the girl, she was only human after all. Everyone made mistakes and it had been at a time that Summer felt like all hope was lost. "I'm not really sure what to say," Carmen told her honestly. "I mean, obviously I'm here if you need me. And I can help you tell the others if you'd like." She offered the only thing she thought might be of any help.

"That means a lot," Summer said, unable to portray how grateful she was.

"It's the least I can do. You're not alone in this." Carmen told her before pulling Summer into a hug. She hadn't realized how much she needed human contact and support until she had it. Summer didn't know how a hug—such a simple gesture—could do more for her than words could even describe. Just knowing someone was _there _for her was more than she could ask for with everything going on.

Carmen pulled away from their embrace. "Can we please go back in?" she asked. "I'm famished."

This caused the first smile in days to grace Summer's face. It made Carmen feel good to know that she had finally succeeded in cheering the girl up.

"Sure," Summer grinned. She was quite aware of Carmen's appetite. There were days she ate as much as Sirius in one sitting, and that was really saying something. Sirius was notorious for the amount of food he could put away in a period of time.

Carmen threw her arms around Summer's shoulder as the two girls turned back to the Great Hall doors. She said no more of Summer's pregnancy during the remainder of the meal.

Later that night, the others all sat in the Common Room. Summer gave Carmen a meaningful look earning a slight nod from the dark-haired girl. She left her spot from Kevin's lap to sit next to the pregnant girl. Kevin watched her, confused. Carmen grabbed Carmen's shaking hand from her lap.

"You can do this," she whispered low enough that only the intended recipient heard her message.

Summer took in a deep breath, the same feeling of unease and dizziness returning to her. Sirius noticed the two girl's exchange and let out a bark-like laugh.

"Is there something you two need to tell us?" he asked, amusement dancing in his grey eyes. Upon the Summer biting her lip and glancing at Carmen, he added. "Have you two gone lesbian together? Because that would be so sexy."

Summer let herself laugh. She her nerves calmed down a bit as she reminded herself why she liked Sirius so much. He was funny and could almost always make her smile, even if she was feeling rotten. He had been amazing when she revealed to him that she hadn't been ready to have sex and proven to be a loyal friend ever since.

"I do have something to tell you all," Summer began. Sirius' grin widened. "It's not that I've taken Carmen as a lover though."

"Damn," Sirius muttered and Summer smiled despite herself.

Her smile dropped from her face as she glanced around the crowded Common Room. There was no way she could reveal her secret here with so many witnesses.

"Do you think we could do this up in the boys' dorm?" she asked, exhaling when everyone immediately agreed and didn't push her to tell them at their present location.

Once everyone was settled among the various boys' bed, Carmen once again taking her spot next to Summer, she drew in a deep breath, letting it out slowly. _Please don't let them all hate me_, she prayed silently.

"I wasn't at the library last night," Summer informed them, deciding it was best to start here. "I was at the Hospital Wing. I was told…you see I went there because…I wasn't sure but I had to know…and what I found out is…I'm pregnant." Summer had braced herself for the collective gasp that filled the room. She felt her heart ache and swell at the same time as Sirius immediately stood up and made his way over to her.

"I'm here, Summer. Whatever I have to do to be in this baby's life, I'll do it." The determination and sincerity in his voice broke Summer's heart.

Summer desperately wished she had clarified from the start that it wasn't Sirius' baby. Now she was going to have to break his heart by making that painfully clear. The tears came fast and hard and Sirius pulled her into a tight hug. _Stop being so nice to me! _she screamed in her head, wishing she could find her voice to say them aloud. _Can't you all see what a rotten friend I've been? How horrible of a person I am? _The thought only made her cry harder.

"The baby…" she began between sobs. "It's not…it's not…yours." It seemed to take her ages before she finally choked out the words.

Sirius pulled back slightly, looking hurt and confused. "Oh…I…didn't…I shouldn't have assumed…"

Summer shook her head, using all her will power to stop weeping. "I thought it was," she told him. "I _wish,_ with everything I have in me, that it was yours," she said soberly, forcing herself to look him in the eyes as she spoke. She held his gaze until she couldn't take it anymore, dropping her eyes to her lap. "I was literally sick to my stomach when Madam Pomfrey told me it wasn't yours. I threw up."

"How…" Sirius hesitated for a second, his voice raw. He cleared his throat and tried again. "How do you know it's not mine? I didn't think they could tell this early. And how could it _not _be mine? I was your first, I thought I was your only."

Summer swallowed her pride, something she found was getting easier the more she did it, and told the others the whole story. Everyone listened patiently. She glanced around at the others and her heart skipped a beat when she saw not a judgmental look in any of their eyes. Instead the other's held expressions of pity, support and…admiration? Though it boggled her mind what they could possibly admire about a person who was pregnant from a drunken one night stand.

She realized then that she was the luckiest person in the world. She treated this lot like they were the scum of the earth for their first six years of knowing each other. She regretted now more than ever that she had ever become friends with Robyn.

"I think I speak for everyone when I say, we are here for you," Lily said, being the first to speak after Summer sharing her story. Everyone else nodded in agreement.

She let out a sigh of relief as Carmen squeezed her hand, giving her a smile of encouragement and Sirius wrapped his arm around her and she wanted to cry again, this time from joy. _Damn these hormones _she thought to herself, though she had a grin a mile wide on her face. "Thanks, that means more than I can tell you all," Summer said. She would be a single mother, but she wouldn't be raising this child alone.

A few hours later, lying in bed, Summer found herself unable to sleep for the second night in a row. This time, it was for a much different reason. The night before it had been from dread, tonight it was from hope and excitement. She knew raising this baby was going to be the hardest thing she'd ever have to do in her life, but she was up to the challenge. Summer had never been one to be strong or confident. She, at this point in time, wasn't even sure she knew who she was. She was sure of one thing though, she was a mother. She would be the best mum ever; she wouldn't fail at this like she had so much else. Tonight she had said a Silencing Charm so she could be alone with her thoughts. Would it be a boy or a girl? Part of her hoped for a little girl. Somehow, she thought a little girl would be a second chance. _Her _chance to raise someone better than her. Her parents hadn't done a very good job of instilling a sense of self in Summer and she knew she would never do something that horrible to her own child.

Her thoughts turned to the talk she and Carmen had had earlier after she informed every one of her news. She had told Carmen about her home life. Her parents had been about her age, actually a year younger to be exact, when they had her. And they openly resented her for taking away their youth. Sure, they provided the basics for her: food, shelter, clothes on her back. But they never made her feel like she was worthy of love and affection. She would often ask to just have a chat with her mother.

Her mum would glance up at her, her light brown hair pulled into a messy bun atop her head. Summer grimaced as her blue eyes stared back at her, exhaustion evident in them. "Well, I would love to talk, Summer," her mother would began, her voice dripping with resentment, "but you see I just got back from the second job I have to work to support you."

Her parents liked to throw it in her face that they worked three jobs between the two of them because they hadn't been able to pursue better paying careers that required training due to having to raise her. Summer wiped away a tear running down her cheek. She quickly pushed the thought of her parents from her mind and went back to fantasizing about her child.

Summer wasn't the only one not sleeping when she was supposed to be. Lily tiptoed her way to the boys' dorm and opened the door as quietly as possible. She bit back a laugh as Sirius let out a boisterous snore. She slowly made her way to James' bed. This time the boy was on his back, though he was still spread out. His right leg was hanging off the bed. Lily didn't understand why he took up so much space. Though she usually slept on her side and barely moved in her sleep. James was snoring lightly as Lily reached her hand out, pushing on his back slightly.

"James," she whispered. She shook him a little bit harder and his eyes flew open.

"Lil—"

"Shhh," she said quietly, covering his mouth. She glanced quickly around the room to make sure none of the other boys had been disturbed. She removed her hand from James' mouth.

"What are you doing here?" he whispered, rolling over on his side so he could see her better.

"I—I wanted to see you," she said, cursing the warmth spreading through her body. Ever since the other morning, her hormones had been running wild and she wanted nothing more than to feel James' hands on her, his lips gracing hers. Unfortunately, they had been super busy and hadn't even had time to talk, so naturally any alone time had been out of the question. So she had decided she was going to make some time for them."I..." she trailed off, not really sure how to describe her feelings.

Luckily for her, James could see the fire in her eyes, making an explanation unnecessary. "Lily Evans," James spoke, amusement laced through his low voice as he grinned broadly at her. "Who knew you were such a minx."

Lily felt herself blush deeply, something James could detect with the moonlight spilling into the room. "I'm not…" she sighed, realizing any attempts to defend herself would be useless. She glared at him slightly. He was enjoying this entirely too much. "Listen," she said, her annoyance apparent in her voice, "can we just go to the Common Room?"

James smirked at her, "Lily Evans, _Head Girl, _wants to snog me in the Common Room at—" he glanced at his clock, "two in the morning." Lily bit her lip, embarrassed because she knew her actions were wrong, but she was only human, after all. "That's damn sexy," James continued, sitting up. "And I would be more than happy to oblige." He grabbed her hand and the two made their way down the steps.

Lily knew she shouldn't be doing this. She was only slightly ashamed of the arousal that the thrill was causing her as she had other things on her mind. James pushed her roughly against the couch, smashing his lips down on hers. She let her legs fall open on either side of them, grinding into him slightly. Her hands found their way to his hair. She heard James groan as she pushed her pelvis into his and smiled to herself before repeating the movement.

James pulled away from her lips abruptly. "If you don't stop doing that, we are going to end up doing something we will both regret in the morning," he told her, his voice gruff.

Lily giggled. "Stop doing what?" she asked innocently. "Oh, you mean _this_?" she asked, mischief in her emerald eyes as she pushed her hips towards his again. She grinned broadly up at him, not even attempting to feign innocence.

James groaned slightly before a smirk was placed upon his lips. "That's how it's going to be, huh?" he asked. "Fine, two can play by that game." Lily cowered a bit under his impish grin. Before she could speak, his lips were on the little patch of skin under her ear. She cursed the day that she had told him that was one of her favorite spots to be kissed.

She gasped slightly and squirmed under him as he continued his attack on the spot. Suddenly, she felt a rough hand on her shirt covered breast. She felt James smile against her neck as he realized she wasn't wearing a bra. She could feel his warm, calloused hand through the thin material of her shirt. She had never been touched this way before and her head swam with delirium. She had to make him stop before she exploded; the pleasure, the teasing, it was more than she could handle.

"Mmm," she moaned, unable to form a coherent thought let alone the command to make him stop. He took this as a sign of encouragement and bit down on her neck as he began kneading the soft breast through her shirt. The sharp pain of the bite cleared her head just long enough for her to speak. "Enough," she spit out, finally.

James gave the spot an apologetic lick before pushing himself into a sitting position. He glanced down at the flushed redhead whose breathing was extremely labored. "See," he said, grinning at her, "it's not very fun being teased, is it?"

"Uh uh," Lily said, shaking her head and still trying to recover from his touch. James opened his mouth to speak but Lily hushed his words by sitting up and pressing her lips to his. The couple sat in the Common Room, snogging for another half hour or so before heading back to their respective beds. Lily had a grin of satisfaction upon her face, knowing that these were the best days of her life thus far.

**Jonte Aliscious: **_If you read the chapter, yes, Summer is pregnant, but it's not Sirius' baby (which I hope takes away from some of the cliche) Lets take it back a few years, (I took a couple year hiatus from this story) I had always kind of played with the idea of Summer being pregnant and it being Sirius' baby (I was young and naive :P) but even then decided it was TOO cliche so I tossed away the idea. When I came back to writing it, I started toying with the idea again but decided it wouldn't be Sirius' baby. I still went back and forth with the idea for a week, wondering if it the idea was too "worn out" but then the more I started thinking about the idea, the more other plot lines started coming to me. One of which happens in the next chapter and actual leads up to an idea I've had from the very beginning. Now, the reasoning for this event was pretty vague and kind of a "just because" but now it has a more solid reasoning for happening. Also, Summer being pregnant is (I've decided) very essential to her finding herself. She didn't have a very good childhood (as mentioned) and never really had a sense of self or worth until she met Robyn and then she just kinda formed herself to fit Robyn's mold. She's never known who she was and getting pregnant kinda makes her want to discover herself. She wants to "be" somebody for her child. So...yea it's a total cliche but I hope I've added enough of my own little twists and reasoning to keep you interested in the story. Also, I hope the effort I put into this explanation shows how much I appreciate you as a reader. Much love, Tara._

_Also, **Eleos, **I threw in that last little snogging (there's that word again :D) scene just for you. Also, because this was a rather serious scene and I'm too much of a goofball to handle too much seriousness at one time. :P _


	21. Chapter 20

_This is personally one of my favorite chapters. You all will see why soon enough. :D I was practically giddy when I came up with this idea (again this was part of the Summer getting pregnant leads to another idea which leads to a very important part of this story). I hope you all enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. You know the drill, if you don't want to read my comments to my readers, skip on down to the chapter. Also, this story is reaching it's end. I decided the other day that I'm almost done with it (well I decided when I wanted it to end a couple weeks ago and was in the middle of a chapter and was like "Damn...It's almost there" so it kinda snuck up on me.) Anyway, I plan on the last chapter being Chapter 24 and then an epilogue. Also, I will begin writing a new fic, so keep an eye out for it. I actually started it a few years ago and I've been toying with the idea of it again. It's called "Right Where I Belong" and I plan on working on it in the next couple days or so. I haven't decided if I'm going to post the first chapter as soon as I get it done, or do like I've been doing and waiting until I have a few chapters of it before posting. Anyway, enjoy! Thoughts are much appreciated and I love you guys!  
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**Jonte Aliscious: **_I am sooo happy that you still decided to read the chapter. I swear, it's a miracle my head didn't swell twenty times its normal size as my ego did when I read your reply. I was sitting in Denny's and got odd looks from others as I did a little "I am awesome" dance. :P Yes, Summer's parents are quite horrible and I dreaded writing that, but it's very important to showing why Summer is the way she is. Thanks so much for the wonderful review, it seriously made my day and I still can't read it without grinning from ear to ear! _

_**crazymacky: **__I totally forgot about Angelina Johnson, but no, that is not Summer's daughter. Thanks for the review_

**Jenn222: **_Yes, Summer has amazing friends and they are going to become more important to her than even she realizes at this point. Thanks for your loyal reviews :D _

**imsuchanut: **_Thanks for reading despite not agreeing with some of my morals and those of the characters. I know a lot of people won't read a story if it differs from their beliefs, so thanks for not letting that sway you from reading the story. Once again I am pleased to hear that people don't think this is too cliche. :) I hope you keep reading and to get more reviews from you. _

**Bornatmidnight96: **_I updated! :P _

**aboutBlank: **_I like to keep my stories fluffy and I'm so glad you love it. :D I realized that in my other fanfics my OCs weren't really that diverse. That were all pretty interchangeable so __I made sure to give them their own distinct personalities this time. I love all of them and I have a blast writing them. I love Carmen's fierceness and I'll admit that I kind of based Faith a little off myself. She's a ditz and she knows and embraces it. I love the relationship between Carmen and Kevin, they can't keep their hands off each other. And Faith and Dean are just adorable (In my humble but slightly biased opinion). Unfortunately I was trying to keep it as close to the real story as possible and don't like to write a love story where the characters broke up so that's my reasoning for keeping Remus and Sirius single. And I don't much care for Peter so I tend to pretend he doesn't exist :P I assure you, Sirius is not the father of the baby, they only had sex the one time. I will tell you that I don't ever reveal the father of Summer's baby. She's not sure who it is and neither am I. As she's said, he's not important. Hahaha I hate Robyn but I (guiltily) enjoy writing her. Mainly because it's fun watching everyone burn her. :P (Yeah, I'm a little evil) Thanks for the wonderful review. I hope you keep reading. :D _

_**Super Cara: **I loved writing Sirius' reaction to hearing Summer was pregnant but it broke my heart to have to write that it wasn't his child. I don't know who it hurt more, me or Summer. Thanks for reading. _

_**4BlOnDiE4: **__I'm glad you read the note and don't worry, I'm nosy too :P. Yeah like I said a few years ago I toyed with the idea of it being Sirius' baby but decided against it for many reasons. It's too cliche, it doesn't fit cannon, etc. I probably won't reveal the baby's father. I kinda considered it being Michael's baby (Robyn's ex and the guy who assaulted Summer) but I decided that was much too cruel. I hope you continue to loyally review :) _  


Chapter 20

Carmen spotted the light brown hair in the crowded corridor. She pushed her way through the sea of students, grunting and swearing under her breath as someone elbowed her in the gut. Didn't these people have any manners? She finally caught up with her intended target.

"Hey," she greeted as Summer turned to her.

"Oh, it's you," Summer replied, visibly exhaling. She figured it had been someone coming to give her shit about her pregnancy. Speaking of which, she threw a glare at a passing classmate who stared at her as they walked by. She was sick of everyone gawking at her. She made a mistake, damn it. As if everyone who was judging her was so damn perfect. She knew for a fact that most of the people condemning her would be in the same boat if not for sheer luck. She smiled slightly to herself as she saw Carmen glaring at another student walking past as their eyes fell on Summer's stomach. She knew she was lucky to have someone so strong and intimidating on her side.

"You okay?" Carmen asked, finally turning her attention back to Summer as the student she had glowered at quickly scuttled past the pair. "Why are you going this way? I thought you had Charms."

Summer shrugged slightly. "I'm ditching. I can't sit there for forty-five minutes and have everyone gaping at me and pretending it's not me that they are whispering about behind their hand."

Carmen nodded, causing her dark curls to bounce slightly. "I can understand that. I'm really sorry you're going through this." She felt real sympathy for the girl, and Carmen didn't sympathize with people easily. Summer had had a rough life and this was just the cherry on top. How much rubbish did one person have to put up with in a single lifetime?

Summer thanked Carmen, meaning it with all her heart. She knew it was of the highest honor to receive such compassion from the girl next to her. She felt tears well up in her eyes and swore aloud, ignoring the looks of shock from some of the students surrounding her.

Carmen regarded her, alarm filling her chocolate brown eyes. "What?" she inquired urgently, stopping abruptly to examine Summer. "What's wrong? Are you okay?" She wondered briefly where this solicitousness was coming from. She had never really been one to feel such a sense of concern for anyone. There was something about Summer, something about her vulnerability that made her want to protect the small girl. Maybe it _was_ that exposure-something she had never seen so much of in one person- that made her want to be there for Summer.

A small smile worked its way to Summer's face. Carmen's concern touched her deeply. "Yeah. I'm fine," Summer told the other girl. "I'm just sick of feeling so bloody emotional all the time. It's like every little thing makes me want to cry at the drop of a hat."

"Oh," Carmen stated, unsure of any words of comfort she could offer the pregnant girl. She settled for, "Yeah, hormones are a bitch."

This commented elicited a laugh from Summer's slightly parted lips. "That they are," she concurred, still grinning. "Hey are you busy right now?"

"Not really," Carmen answered. She had started walking once again now that she was sure the other girl wasn't in any danger. "I have a free period and Kevin's in class so I was just planning on going back to the dorm to study some. Why? What did you have in mind?"

"Well," Summer's eyes dropped to her hands, which she wrung nervously. She hesitated slightly before continuing, "I was kind of wondering if you would walk around with me. I don't want to be alone but I don't want to be in a crowded area either." She chanced a glance at Carmen. Her eyes caught the small look of amusement on Carmen's face. She sighed a little. "You don't want to. That's okay." Her heart was dropping a little. She didn't want to deal with _all _of her classmates but she also didn't want to be alone. Carmen thought she was just a silly little girl with a silly request.

"What? No," Carmen said, bemused. "You didn't even give me a chance to reply. Why would you assume that I don't want to?"

Summer shrugged sheepishly, embarrassment warming her cheeks. "I don't know. You looked like the idea amused you. Like you thought I was dumb to think that you would want to spend a free period with someone so pathetic."

Carmen's face hardened and fixed a glare on the other girl. "You are not pathetic, and don't ever think that." Her features softened a little as she added, "I looked amused because I couldn't believe it was such a small request. The way you hesitated made me think you were going to ask me to perform The Cruciatus Curse."

Summer smiled for a second before she realized the girl hadn't answered her question, she frowned slightly. "So...is that a yes?"

Carmen grinned. It was shocking that this poor girl wasn't terrified of her own shadow. She'd gotten a small background on her but wondered what in the world had happened to someone so gentle-hearted to cause her to be so timid. It was as if now that she wasn't playing the part of the bitch-and Carmen knew it to be just that, an act-she didn't know who she even was. Carmen nodded, "That's a yes."

Summer beamed. "Great. I know a few back corridors that are almost always empty. Sirius showed them to me. I don't know how he knows so much about this freaking castle."

Carmen glanced around the almost nearly empty corridor they stood in. Only a few students who had free periods or were running late to the classes they were supposed to be in remained. "What's wrong with the main corridors?" Carmen asked. "With classes in session they are pretty much empty."

Summer's eyes dropped as she noticed a trio of Fifth Year girls passing, sneaking glances at Summer and whispering to each other. "It's still too many people," she told Carmen. Her blue eyes begged the other girl. "Please, can we just go to one of the smaller corridors?"

"Yeah, of course," complied the dark-haired girl. "Lead the way, mummy." She chortled as Summer shot her a small grin she tried to mask with a glare.

The two walked in a comfortable silence as Summer lead the way to one of the aforementioned corridors and focused on trying not to get them lost. She had always been with Sirius when they walked this path and she, admittedly, had been too lost in their conversation to pay much attention to which way they went. She had a pretty decent sense of direction though and allowed herself a little confidence that she knew where they were going.

"So are you going to try to figure out who the father is?" Carmen asked, assuming they were in one of the corridors that Summer had spoken of since she didn't recognize this part of the castle.

Summer shook her head, remembering with shame that she had admitted to Carmen that she had been too drunk at the time of conception to know with whom she had been having sex. "I don't think so. It's not important to me."

Carmen gaped at her slightly. "Not important?" she almost sputtered. "Summer, this is the father of your child. Don't you want him to take responsibility? Don't you want him to step up and be a man and help raise his kid?"

Summer shrugged slightly. "I really couldn't care less if he were to step up and be a man. This is my baby. Mine," she asserted with more aggression than Carmen had ever seen the girl produce. Carmen found herself smiling at the amount of heart Summer was showing. She had established a mere week ago that she was pregnant and already she was deciding to take full responsibility.

"Still, aren't you the least bit curious?"

Summer forcefully moved her head from side to side. She met Carmen's chocolate brown eyes. "I don't need to know who the father of my child is to be a good mother."

Carmen had a newfound respect for her new friend. She was about to tell Summer this when a rather unpleasant voice interrupted her.

"So, you really will be raising a bastard child."

Carmen didn't have to look at Robyn's face to see the girl's sneer. She and Summer turned around and Robyn walking towards them filled their vision. Carmen felt a hate she reserved for Robyn fill her. There was just something about this girl that could set her off in a heartbeat. Robyn was just such a…such a bitch. She always had to make sure she ruined everyone else's good time.

"Well so much for privacy," Carmen muttered apologetically to Summer through gritted teeth. Robyn had the worst timing in the history of the world. Then again, Robyn being around was never a good thing, really. Carmen felt Summer tense beside her. Glancing over she saw that the girl had taken to staring at the ground and fiddling with her hands again. Carmen's anger level rose. Robyn knew of her power over Summer. She knew how much she intimidated the girl. Carmen's eyes turned to an almost black color as they hardened on Robyn again. "What do you want, Smith?"

Robyn smirked, not looking at the girl who had addressed her, instead keeping her eyes on the unsettled Summer. She contorted her face into a too-big smile, her voice changing into a fake cheery tone, "I just wanted to congratulate Summer on being dumb enough to get knocked up."

That was it, Carmen had had enough. "You stupid—," she seethed charging at the girl.

"No!" Summer yelled, stepping quickly in front of Carmen. Her outstretched hands rested on Carmen's chest. She suspected her being pregnant was the only reason the raging girl didn't try to push past her. Carmen glared past Summer at Robyn as the girl planted an amused smirk on her face. "She's not worth it," Summer spoke once again. "You'll get in trouble," she continued, her plead evident in her voice. "She's not worth it," she repeated once again.

Finally, Carmen broke her glare on Robyn and looked down at Summer, meeting her eyes. She let out a sigh. She glanced back at Robyn, hardening her eyes once again. "Yeah. You're right. She's not worth it." This only made Robyn smirk more.

"Let's just…let's just go," Summer pleaded, dropping her hands from the girl's chest. She was satisfied that her friend wasn't going to try to attack Robyn anymore.

Carmen glanced back down at Summer. "Okay," she agreed a little more easily than Summer had expected her to. Carmen knew that if she were to stand there and look at the smirk on Robyn's face much longer she wouldn't be able to contain her anger as she had been.

Summer exhaled slowly. "Good. Good. Let's go."

She and Carmen turned to walk away and had only taken a few steps before Robyn stomped up to them, grabbing Summer's arm.

"Don't walk away from, you slag. I wasn't— "_Crack. _Robyn fell to the ground in a heap, her hand clutching her nose.

Summer gasped and looked over at Carmen who was massaging her hand. Carmen didn't know what had happened. They had turned to walk away and when she saw Robyn grab Summer's arm like that, she just…she snapped. She had spent the last month watching Robyn torture Summer, all because Summer had decided she didn't want to be Robyn's friend anymore. Enough was enough. Robyn had no right to put her hands on another person, a _pregnant_ person at that. Especially when said person was trying to walk away from the confrontation. Summer had actively stopped Carmen from beating Robyn to a bloody pulp, and instead of being grateful, the little cow then decided to _assault _her old friend.

"_Shit_!" Summer swore. "Carmen!" she chastised. Fear was taking over the small satisfactory feeling she had knowing that Carmen had punched Robyn for _her_. "Why'd you do that?"

Carmen gaped at the girl on the ground, still rubbing her hand. Damn that had hurt. It'd been a while since she'd punched anyone and she'd forgotten how much it stung. "I'm sorry," she apologized, not at all sorry. "I snapped. When I saw her grab your arm—I just snapped."

"Well as much as I app—"

"My nose," Robyn coughed, still lying on the ground. "You broke my nose, you bitch!" she wheezed as blood seeped through the hand pressed on her face. "You'll pay for this."

"Oh ye—," Carmen's retort was interrupted as Summer grabbed her arm.

"Let's go," Summer said, tugging slightly, desperate to stop things from escalating any more than they already had. "You made your point. Now let's go before someone shows up," she demanded forcefully.

Carmen was slightly irritated at the smaller girl for interposing. She had a million ripostes to Robyn's garbled threat. However, she sighed and knew it would not be in her best interest to be standing over the heap of a girl on the ground, slighting her when someone showed up. She turned on her heel and headed for the end of the corridor, leaving Summer to trail behind her. She was still simmering a bit but had found that punching Robyn had gotten out most of her anger. She distantly heard Robyn scuffling to her feet as they turned a corner.

"I still can't believe you did that," Summer reprimanded, gasping to catch her breath. She had almost had to jog to keep up with Carmen's quick, annoyed stride.

Carmen slowed her pace, feeling bad that she had made the pregnant girl work so hard to keep up with her. She honestly hadn't paid much attention to her speed. Stopping altogether to let Summer rest, she leaned against the stone wall. They were a few corridors away from where they had left the injured girl. Her irritation had subsided completely.

"Neither can I," Carmen stated honestly. "I lost control." She grinned as the sight of Robyn clutching her nose popped into her head. "That was bloody awesome though. Not that I'm proud of it or anything," she added as Summer shot her look. She fixed Summer with a knowing look of her own. "You can't deny that was wicked."

Summer lost a battle with the smile trying to creep upon her face. "Yeah, yeah," she agreed, shaking her head. "Thank you, by the way," she added once she remembered Carmen had punched Robyn to protect her. "How's your hand?" She reached down to grab the girl's hand, examining it. "Does it hurt? Is that your blood or Robyn's?"

Carmen glanced at it, licked the thumb on her other hand, and swiped it across the blood, which came off easily. "Robyn's," she stated so matter-of-factly it made Summer giggle.

"Well then," she laughed. The girl's actions had been so nonchalant. "Does it hurt?"

Carmen shrugged. "It did, not really anymore though."

Just then a bell sounded throughout the hallway, causing the two girls to jump. Once their hearts slowed down a bit, they looked at each other and started laughing. Carmen pulled her hand away from Summer's grip.

"C'mon, we better get going or we are going to be late to Herbology." She pulled out her wand and said a spell cleaning the rest of the blood off her knuckle. "I know a short cut from here."

Summer let out a dry laugh, "Yeah because that worked out so well last time."

Carmen grinned broadly at her before they made their way quickly down the hall. A few turns and the two were once again engulfed in the bodies of their classmates rushing to their next class. Summer barely noticed the other students staring at her and her belly as she laughed and talked with Carmen.

The pair had Herbology and one other class for the day, which they also shared. Summer was grateful for Carmen as she suffered the gawking and judgmental looks of her classmates. She once glanced over in Herbology to see Carmen stick her tongue out at a girl who couldn't keep her eyes of off Summer's stomach. Summer stopped her laugh just in time, causing it to come out sounding like a hiccup. Her happiness was quickly halted as a queasy feeling hit the pit of her stomach. '_Not again_' she though. Grabbing her wand, she recited, "_Accio waste basket_."

As the item flew toward her she ignored the professor's protest of "Ms. Johnson, what is the meaning of this interruption?"

Before Summer could answer, she was bent over the waste basket, throwing up. A bunch of the students surrounding her jumped back while Carmen stepped forward and gathered her light brown hair. When Summer was done throwing up she frowned at the contents in the waste basket and rid of it with a swish of her wand. Carmen carried the basket back to its original placement as one of the students timidly handed Summer a piece of gum, a look of sympathy in the girl's eyes. Summer smiled at her gratefully.

"Do you need to go to the Hospital Wing?" asked the professor. "Are you ill, Miss Johnson?"

Summer heard the snort a few students away from her. "She's not sick," the snide voice spoke. She glanced up to see it was Slytherin in their year. "The dumb tart is up the duff."

"Ten points, Mr. Hughes," the professor declared, "for insulting another student. The same punishment will be handed out to anyone else who is caught making derogatory remarks about Miss Johnsons…situation."

Summer was thankful for the professor's words but knew that the woman was just as shocked as anyone else and was only threatening the students out of obligation. Summer ducked her head as the eyes of entire class fell on her. The professor called attention and continued with her lesson.

"We will go to Poppy later," Carmen was saying as the two made their way to their final lesson of the day. "Surely there is some potion or something she can give you that will help with your nausea."

Summer shrugged. "I don't mind it." She sighed as Carmen fixed a hard stare on her. "Okay, I _do_. It's annoying as all hell to throw up ten times a day, but it'll be worth it all when this baby gets here. It's my own fault I'm in this situation so I will suffer the consequences."

Carmen chuckled slightly. "I never knew you were such a masochist."

Summer's face reddened. "I'm not," she answered, ignoring the skeptical look on Carmen's face. "I just feel…responsible. And…I don't know. I feel like I should be punished. If that makes any sense."

Carmen nodded. "It does," she answered, glaring as she stepped around a student who thought it was perfectly acceptable to just stand in the middle of the crowded corridor. "But it's also the dumbest thing I've ever heard of. You made a mistake, Summer, everyone does. It's no reason to actively avoid anything that can help you stop puking throughout the day."

"It's not just that either," Summer said with determination Carmen has started to associate with anything that has to do with this child. "I already love this child more than anything else in my life. I would do anything for him or her, and if that means having morning sickness at four o'clock in the afternoon, then so be it. I would never forgive myself if a potion caused harm to my child."

Carmen nodded, knowing any argument with Summer would be futile. The two completed their journey to their next class without another word.

OooOooO

"Is it true?" Faith asked Carmen. Carmen turned her attention from the steak on her plate. She near laughed out loud at the sight of the blonde nearly bouncing in her seat.

"Is what true?" Carmen asked, confusion filling her chocolate brown eyes. She felt Summer tense next to her and looked over to see the girl paying way too much attention to the roll she was buttering. It seemed that bread was one of the few things she could keep down lately. However, Carmen did notice a few carrots and a piece of chicken on the girl's plate.

"Did you really punch Robyn in the face and break her nose?" Faith asked giddily.

"Where did you hear that?" Carmen had to fight the keep the pride from showing on her face.

"Some fifth year heard her telling Pomfrey about it in the Wing. He's telling everyone."

Carmen's face dropped. She would surely be in trouble for this. She chastised herself for not assuming that Robyn would run her mouth and tattle on her. _"Shit._"

A sharp voice interrupted Carmen's thoughts. "Miss Baldwin." Carmen turned around to see Professor McGonagall standing before her, staring down her nose at the girl.

"I'm sorry, Professor. I didn't mean to use such language, it slipped out."

"That wasn't my main concern," McGonagall continued, "though I am going to take a point from Gryffindor. Head Master Dumbledore would like to see you and Miss Johnson in his office immediately."

Carmen's glance immediately flew to Summer. She felt bad for the laughter that had started to bubble up in her throat at the girl's expression. It was as if someone had forced Summer to commit a horrible crime. Summer slowly lifted her head to meet Carmen's gaze. She saw the girl swallow.

"Girls?" McGonagall said authoritatively, snapping Carmen and Summer to attention. Summer quickly dropped the knife and roll, finally turning to look at the Professor.

"We're coming," Summer assured the woman. She and Carmen swiftly stood from their seats. Carmen took one last glance at her friends. They were whispering among each other and she could see the confusion and worry evident on their face.

OooOooO

"I'm so sorry," Summer apologized as the two made their way through the empty corridors. Carmen jerked her attention to the girl.

"Sorry?" Carmen asked, confused. "What the hell do you have to be sorry for?" she continued, a little harsher than she had intended. She softened, and lowered, her voice a bit. "You didn't punch Robyn."

"I know I didn't," Summer said, following Carmen's lead and keeping her voice at a whisper. "But if it wasn't for me, you wouldn't have. If I hadn't made such a big deal about sleeping with Sirius, I wouldn't have gotten drunk and slept with some random bloke. I wouldn't have stopped being friends with Robyn. I may not have punched her, but it's my fault it happened."

Carmen laughed, shaking her head. "Trust me," she began as Summer looked at her as if she'd gone completely gone off her rocker. The two were on their way to the Head Masters office where Carmen was probably going to get detention, if not worse, for assaulting another student, and here she was _laughing_. "I probably would've punched Robyn for some reason or another. So it's not exactly your fault it happened. It was actually pretty imminent. And besides, I'm glad you made a big deal of sleeping with Sirius, I much prefer you now than to when you were friends with that cow."

Summer felt the tears well up in her eyes. She very much appreciated, but didn't believe, the girl saying it wasn't her fault that she punched Robyn. "I should've just kept my mouth shut. I should've made up some bullshit about a family member dying or something when Lily found me crying in the Common Room. I could've just broken up with Sirius and went about my life, suffering through Robyn's rubbish. I only had another nine months to deal with her and her crew then I would've been ridden of them for the rest of my life and we wouldn't have all this going on." Summer choked out these few sentences, willing herself not to cry. "I may not know who I am but I'm a damn good actress."

"Maybe that's why you're such a good actress," Carmen commented. "It's easy to pretend to be someone else when you don't have much a personality to stray away from. And I'm glad you didn't keep pretending to act like Robyn. You're a lot happier now, that was evident from the first day you started sitting with us. And so what if all of this drama is going on because you aren't friends with Robyn anymore?" Carmen was stubborn and when she set her mind on something, she didn't give up. She was determined to convince Summer that none of this was her fault and that she was a million times better off without Robyn.

Unfortunately their conversation was cut short as they stood outside the Head Master's office entrance. Carmen whispered the password to the gargoyle and motion with an outstretched arm for Summer to stand upon the steps. Summer obliged with a heavy sigh as Carmen followed suit. The two were quite as the spiral steps lead them up to their fate. Summer hesitated at the door before raising her hand to knock.

"Come in," said the voice behind it.

The two girls walked into the office as the sound of all the magical items clinking filled their ears. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and a very angry Robyn stood on the other side of it. Carmen forced back the smile at the bandage on her nose. No doubt Poppy had fixed her broken nose but it would take a few days to heal completely, thus a bandage was needed to hide the grotesque injury. Carmen would bet ten Galleons that Robyn had insisted on the bandage. She was so vain it almost hurt to watch how much she loved herself. Of course, she wouldn't be one to walk around with such an ugly site upon her face.

"Miss Baldwin. Miss Johnson," the Head Master said, addressing each with a nod. "I assume you know why I've called you two here." Carmen fought herself not to gape at the twinkle in his eye. When she shifted her head for a better look, it was gone. His face was the definition of authority and fairness.

"No, Head Master," Carmen lied. She was taking her usual route. Deny. Deny. Deny. Though she, admittedly, wasn't sure how she was going to be able to get out of this one.

"Well, Miss Baldwin," Dumbledore began, standing from his seat. He seemed to glide over to the perch upon which Fawkes, his phoenix, sat. He reached out a wrinkled hand, gingerly stroking the bird. Fawkes lifted his head in appreciation. "Miss Smith here has informed me that you assaulted her this afternoon. An assault which resulted in a broken nose."

Carmen barely had time to force her face into a glare as she saw the smirk on Robyn's face before a voice broke through her agitation.

"That's a lie!" Summer said indignantly. Carmen glanced quickly at the girl. The look of determination and injustice upon her face shocked Carmen. Damn, she was good.

Dumbledore, almost lazily, turned his attention to the light haired girl. "Is it, Miss Johnson?" She nodded firmly. "Well then why don't you tell me what happened?"

A look of panic passed Carmen's face as she continued to watch Summer, who's own face was cool as a cucumber. "Carmen and I were just walking down the corridor. She had a free period and I was skipping Charms. You see, I'm pregnant, and I wasn't feeling very well and didn't want to interrupt the class with my numerous…stomach problems." Dumbledore nodded at her knowingly, encouraging her to continue her story. "So that's when Robyn found us. She started calling me names. We tried to walk away from her but she grabbed my arm. When I jerked myself out of her grip, she lost her balance and fell. I'm assuming that's when she broke her nose."

Carmen watched Summer in complete awe. The confidence with which Summer told her story almost made Carmen believe it had actually happened. Her blue eyes had never wavered from the Head Master's own. Carmen was so impressed she almost didn't hear Dumbledore speaking to her.

"Is that what happened, Miss Baldwin?" he asked her.

She turned to look at him, hoping her own face didn't give them away and ruin Summer's magnificent performance. She nodded, "Yes, sir. That's exactly what happened."

Beside her, she heard Robyn sputtering in anger. "Professor, you don't believe their lies do you?"

Dumbledore turned to her calmly. "Miss Smith, you are not suggesting that I don't know when the wool is being pulled over my eyes do you?"

Robyn didn't respect anyone, Carmen imagined, but she also wasn't about to call Dumbledore daft. She had lost this argument.

"I…" Robyn was at a loss for words and settled for stomping her foot. "She punched me, Head Master. I swear it."

"Well, it is their word against yours, Miss Smith." Dumbledore glanced back at Carmen and Summer. Carmen swore he winked at them before turning his attention back to Robyn. "There was one part of their story that interested me greatly. Did you grab Miss Johnson's arm?"

Robyn's silent seething answered his question. "That'll be a week's detention for assault on another student." He ignored the glare that Robyn threw at him. "You are free to go, I will have Professor McGonagall contact you tomorrow with further details on your detentions."

Robyn huffed, stomping past the other two girls. She could do nothing but glare at them while in the presence of the Professor. Dumbledore watched her slam his door before turning back to Carmen and Summer.

"Also, Miss Johnson, you will receive a detention for skipping Charms. While I understand and commend your reasoning, it is not acceptable behavior. I will be informing your professors of your condition and instruct that they give you free reign to leave class when you need to. Are there any other arrangements I need to make to accommodate your situation?"

Summer shook her head. "No. Thank you, Head Master."

"I assure you it is my pleasure," Dumbledore spoke again. "I will recommend that you visit Poppy sometime next week and then at least once a month to see that all is well with you and the baby."

Summer nodded. The Head Master then let the two girls go. Carmen waited until they were a few corridors away from the statue until she spoke.

"Why did you admit that you were skipping class?" she asked. "I mean, you did a great job…beyond a great job, you just saved my ass _and _got Robyn in trouble, but you could've easily left out the part about you skipping."

Summer grinned. "If you admit to at least one thing, they are more likely to believe the rest of your story. Robyn taught me that," she laughed, obviously extremely proud of herself for getting the girl in trouble using her own technique. "Besides, me spending a night in detention is a lot better than you being expelled."

"Thanks, for that, by the way," Carmen said, almost forgetting to say the words as she was still in awe of her new friend stepping up the way she did. "I mean, you didn't have to lie for me."

"Yeah, I know," Summer said. "You didn't have to punch Robyn for me either, but you did. None of you had to do what you've done for me. I just wanted to give back a little for all the trouble I've caused."

Carmen opened her mouth to argue but thought better of it. The two walked quietly to the Common Room. They found the others all sitting on the various couches and chairs. Before either could say a word, Faith was bouncing in her seat again.

"So spill," she urged in a hushed tone, glancing over to Robyn who stood in the corner with some of her friends. "Did you really punch her?"

Carmen glanced over at Summer's grin and shrugged slightly. "She tripped."


	22. Chapter 21

_Ahhh, one chapter closer to the end -tear- I'm posting this sooner than I had planned because I have over half of the Epilogue written and over half of Chapter 23 (the second to last chapter) done. I still haven't written Chapter 24 yet but I have ideas for it. I should have this story done in the next couple of days or so. -dances then cries- I'm not really sure how I feel about this. I am SO PLEASED with how the Epilogue is coming along. It came so easily to me and I rather like it...anyway, enough rambling and teasing you guys. You guys know the drill!  
_

**imsuchanut: **_Hahaha yes she did! It's ridiculous how happy I was writing that scene. _

**4BlOnDiE4: **_Thanks for the review. Right now I'm not writing L/J because quite frankly, Summer's situation is more interesting :P Lily and James are together right now. There's not a whole lot going on with them, they are happy, they are blissful, they are in love blah blah blah :P I will say that you get a little more Lily/James action at the end of this chapter. _

**Jenn222: **_Haha I was quite fond of that line. I too love Carmen. As I said, there's not a whole lot going on with James and Lily right now. I will get back to their relationship in the next chapter. :) _

**aboutBlank: **_Hahahaha, that made me laugh. Yes, Carmen is very bad but that's what makes her so much fun. Thanks for the review. _

**LilyHeartsJames: **_Aww excellent -ego swells- Thanks for the review. Yeah I, myself, am quite glad that somebody *finally* gave Robyn what was coming to her! Don't worry on missing the last chapter, it's all good. :) _

**Super Cara: **_So glad you finally got to read the whole thing, and not a problem with you not reviewing every chapter. That's a lot of typing. :P I love the relationship between Sirius and Summer, as well as the one between Sirius and Lily. I just love Sirius in general. The whole Carmen/Summer bonding as much as they did kind of snuck up on me, to be honest. I always kinda of imaged Faith and Summer getting super close, but I think I like the idea of Carmen and Summer better. Carmen is going to help Summer develop into her own person better than Faith would. I don't want it to end either. A sequel wasn't really something I planned on doing but the Epilogue is three years after they graduate so it's like a little mini sequel. Also, I may be writing a one shot between two characters that I can't reveal at this time :) _

_Also, I would like to thank __(And yes, I am shamelessly begging for more reviews :P)  
_

Chapter 21

Carmen and Summer entered the Common Room through the portrait hole, laughing. Summer was clutching onto Carmen for support to make sure she didn't topple over from her fit of giggles. Carmen wiped a tear from her eye. Lily, James, Remus, and Kevin were sitting on the couch and turned their attention to the hysterical girls.

"What's so funny?" James asked as the two girls reached them.

Summer took in a deep breath, composing herself slightly. "Carmen," she began before another wave of cackles took over. "I can't even…Oh, Merlin, I can't breathe." She glanced over to see Carmen placing herself in Kevin's lap, burying her head in his shoulder, her whole body shaking from laughter. "It hurts," Summer gasped out between howls. She plopped down on the couch next to Lily as she unceremoniously dropped her bag at her feet.

Carmen let out a snort and Summer bent forward in her fit. The other's all glanced at each other, chuckling at the girls' laughter. They resolved that it would probably be a while before they found out what was so funny.

A little while later, Summer had calmed down after several failed attempts to tell the other's what had happened. Carmen wasn't much better and after a bit, they just gave up altogether, finding their need to breathe was more important than sharing the hilarity with their friends.

Summer looked up from her Charms book. She glanced over at James. "Where's Sirius?" she asked, setting down her quill.

"Up in the dorm," James answered, turning his attention from Lily, who was playing with his hands idly. "He's been kind of withdrawn lately. He told us he was going to study but I think he just wants to be alone for now."

"Oh," Summer said, her face dropping. "Well I need to talk to him." She closed her book, placing it along with the quill and parchment on the table.

Her heart was pounding as she walked up the steps. How was it that fifteen minutes ago she had been laughing so hard it hurt and now she so nervous she was almost shaking? She reached the boys' dorm, stopping to tuck her hair behind her ear, more out of something to prolong opening the door than annoyance at the loose strands. She pushed the door open slightly and found Sirius laying on his bed, twirling his wand in his right hand, his left arm lazily behind his head.

She frowned slightly at the annoyed expression on his face. She had seen him scowl more since she'd given him news of her pregnancy than she had the whole time she'd known him. Almost a week had passed since that dreadful day.

"Sirius?" she asked, hoping to get his attention though she knew he had heard her come in. He turned his head to her slightly, anger flaring in his grey eyes, before looking straight ahead once again. She took that as a sign to step further into the room. She timidly sat on the bed next to his, her heart racing. She nervously started playing with a loose thread on her shirt, not looking up at the boy before her. "Are you…are you mad at me?"

He turned an icy stare towards her. "Why ever would you think that?" he spat bitterly.

Summer cringed. _Okay, _she told herself, _I probably deserved that. _It was more a shock than anything else to hear such a tone come from Sirius. He was always joking around and happy. She knew it was a rhetorical question but answered it anyway.

"You've hardly said three words to me in the past week," she said, biting her bottom lip.

"This is how I deal," Sirius told her. "I don't handle my temper very well so it's better to just stay away from the thing that's pissing me off." He made no movement to turn to her, instead focusing his eyes on the wand in his hand.

Summer watched the wand, mesmerized and terrified. She didn't think Sirius would ever cause harm to her but people did crazy things when they were angry. And Sirius was about as angry as one could get.

"C-can you please put down the wand?" He let out an annoyed sigh before placing the wand on his bed side table. It didn't get past her that he still hadn't looked at her. She thanked him shyly. "Look, you have every right to be pissed," she told him. "I mean, I guess I did technically cheat on you."

This time he did look at her. She almost wished he hadn't as his grey eyes bore into hers. She fought the urge not to cringe again. "Is that why you think I'm mad?" he growled.

"Well, yeah," she answered, dropping her eyes to the loose thread she was still toying with when she could no longer take his glare. The air felt heavy and thick, you could almost cut the tension with a knife. She took in a deep breath and forced herself to continue. "I mean, it was before I broke up with you."

"That's not why I'm upset," Sirius insisted, though his voice didn't soften. "That's not even close." Summer chanced a peek and saw Sirius pinch the bridge of his nose, his face scrunched up. She could tell he was fighting not to lose control. She waited patiently for him to continue, knowing she had no place to interrupt. "I just…dammit, Summer, why would you do something so stupid? _How _could you do something so stupid?" Summer flinched at his words. She had no words to defend herself.

He dropped to his knees before her. "Look at me," he demanded roughly. She obliged immediately, her head shooting up at neck breaking speed, ready to comply with anything he said. "You are so much better than that," he told her, his voice barely above a whisper though she could still hear the frustration it held. _Wait, what? _"You are a million times better than drunken one night stands. I'm so pissed at you for not seeing that."

"That's why you're mad?" she asked, immediately feeling daft, that was what he had just said, after all.

Sirius nodded, his long black hair bouncing slightly. "I'm so disappointed in you for letting yourself believe all the shit Robyn has filled your head with. You _are _worth something and I can't for the life of me understand why you would let someone allow you to think otherwise."

Summer felt the hot tears spill from her eyes. Sirius reached up and wiped them away.

"I…thank you," Summer said, at a loss for any other words.

Sirius shook his head roughly. "Don't thank me, I haven't done anything." The anger in his eyes had subsided almost completely. "I just wish I could help you see how wonderful you are, how much happiness you deserve."

"You have," Summer insisted. "You and the rest of your friends have, for the first time in my life, made me feel like I have value. I just didn't see it then." She went to drop her head again but Sirius caught her chin, forcing her to look him in the eyes.

"Say it again," Sirius told her a little more roughly than he had intended. When she didn't speak he repeated himself. "I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me that you have value. I want you to believe it."

Summer felt her bottom lip tremble and her heart swell with gratitude. "I…" she began, gasping for a breath and willing herself not to cry. "I have value. I _am_ worth something," she insisted forcefully, believing it with all of her heart. Sirius pulled her into a tight hug and she felt the tears of joy and relief spill. _I am important, _she told herself once again as she hiccupped through the sobs. Sirius held her like that for a few minutes, allowing her to soak his shirt with her tears. "I love you, Sirius," she said, composing herself slightly though she didn't break from his embrace. "I love you and Lily and Carmen and Faith for everything you all have done for me."

Sirius shook his head, pulling away from her slightly and meeting her eyes. "We didn't do anything, Summer, we just gave you the little nudge you needed."

Summer bit her bottom lip again, her hands dropping to her sides. "You have though; you all have done more than you know. For the first time in my life I feel like I actually belong somewhere. I can't remember a time when I've felt accepted." Before Sirius could respond, she was speaking again. "I…I actually came up here to ask you a question. I guess you've heard about Carmen and I's trip to the Head Master's office and he instructed that I go to Madam Pomfrey's sometime this week." She hesitated slightly. "I was wondering…and feel free to tell me no…but I was wondering if you would go with me.

Sirius answered immediately. "Yes, of course I'll go with you."

Summer fought to keep the smile off her face, just in case he was jerking her around. "I was going to ask Carmen but…I don't know. I know she's not very good at this emotional support thing. Actually, she's getting a lot better and has shown me a side of her that I've never seen before, but I don't want to ask too much of her. She's helped me out so much already—"

Sirius chuckled slightly, interrupting her. Summer was adorable when she got flustered. "I said I'll go. It would be my pleasure."

"Really?" she asked, still not allowing herself to believe his words. He nodded but spoke no more. "Thank you so much," she gushed. "I was planning on going tomorrow after dinner, if that's okay, I can go another time if that's—"

"Summer," Sirius said, halting her babbling. "Tomorrow after dinner is fine. But you have to promise me something."

Summer sighed; of course there would be a condition to his agreeing. "What is it?" she asked nervously.

"You have to promise me that you will keep telling yourself that you are important. Can you do that for me?"

Summer allowed herself to smile for the first time since she had walked into the room. "I think I can do that."

"Good."

OooOooO

James found Lily in the library during lunch. It was the first place he had looked. Lily had noticeably changed since they had started dating. She was happier than he had seen her in years and she was even a little more lenient with student's violating school rules. Not that she gone crazy with it or anything and let someone who hexed another student off scot free, but she let little offences slide. However, some things hadn't changed, one of them being how Lily approached her studies. It was the one thing she had absolutely refused to budge on. He stepped into the huge library and searched the various tables for the redhead, when he didn't spot her, he entered the library more. He found her in one of the isles. He stopped and admired her as she stretched, reaching for a book.

She must have already found herself a table at which to study for she was missing her cloak. For this, James thanked Merlin as he watched her skirt raise a little, showing more of her glorious legs. A smirk formed on his face as he walked over to her.

"Careful there, Miss Evans," he whispered in her ear, pushing into her slightly. "I could almost see your bum."

"What?" Lily hissed, quickly giving up on her attempt to reach her desired book as she tugged down her skirt. She turned to James glaring as he let out a chuckle, letting her know he was only joking. "You prat."

He grinned at her. "Well I could," he told her cheekily. "I just didn't mention that it was in my imagination." When Lily's cheeks pinked a bit, his grin broadened. "Are you blushing? What happened to the Sexy Lily that came to my room at two in the morning to wake me up for a snogging session?"

Lily shushed him as she frantically glanced around to make sure no one had heard him. Her attempt to glare at him failed miserable as she looked into his eyes. "Could you not announce that to the whole library?" she hissed slightly, fighting a losing battle to stay peeved at him. "We could get in trouble, you know."

James just continued to smile at her. "My apologies, dear." He glanced up at the row of books. "Which one were you trying to get?"

"The green one," she told him, pointing.

James deliberately pressed himself into her as she reached up to grab the book. She felt a breath hitch in her throat. "We can't do this here," she whispered.

"Do what, dear?" James asked almost too innocently. "I was merely grabbing a book for you", he said reaching around in front of her to hand her the aforementioned item. "However, if I _were _trying to do something, don't you think I would try a little harder?" he asked, his calloused hand rose up to stroke her arm.

His gentle touch sent shivers down her arm and she fought to keep control. "James, please," she panted slightly. "We will get in t-trouble. And I really do need to study."

"Okay, Lily," he said, stepping back a little. "One last thing though," he said, pushing her fiery hair to the side as he leaned down to give a gentle lick to her pulse point.

_Curse him _Lily thought to herself as she heard him walk away. She leaned against the bookshelf for support, trying to regain control. She fought to even out her breathing, wishing away the warmth spreading between her legs. When the hell had she become so…sensual? She had never been one to have such urges, but it was like being around James just made her want him with everything she had. She didn't exactly want to have sex with him, she just wanted to be near him, wanted to feel his touch. Because, Merlin, his touch was amazing.

"Everything all right, Miss Evans?" a shrill voice pierced through her thoughts and she snapped her head up to look at the elderly lady in front of her.

"Yeah, everything's fine."

"Are you sure? You looked to be in discomfort."

"I'm fine…just…uh…I am…I have cramps," she blurted out suddenly. _Smooth, Lily, real smooth. _Though lying had never been a skill she'd acquired.

The madam seemed to accept this answer easily enough and nodded before turning away. Lily took a deep breath before gathering the books she had picked out; including the one James had grabbed for her, and made her way to a table where she had already spread out her parchment, quill, and ink.

OooOooO

Summer made her way up to the boys' dorm. It was around seven in the evening and in fifteen minutes she would be in the Hospital Wing. She knocked on the door and waited for a voice from the other side to instruct her to come in. Summer opened the door and found James and Remus sitting on James' bed playing a game of Wizard's Chess.

"—thought you and Lily would've been hanging out tonight," Remus was saying as he instructed one of his pawns to their next placement. It looked to Summer that the game had just begun, naturally as dinner had ended a mere ten minutes ago.

"She's studying," James said, slightly distraught. "I had to force her to eat dinner tonight; she had already spent lunch in the library."

Summer stood there awkwardly, not sure if she should say something. Surely they knew she was there, one of them had invited her in after all. It was James who looked up at her first. "Sirius is in the bathroom, he's just about ready," he informed her.

She barely had time to nod before the bathroom door opened and Sirius stepped out of the bathroom, his hair looking freshly combed. Summer giggled a little. "You got a hot date? Or is it Poppy that you are trying to impress?"

Sirius shrugged slightly, tightening his tie and Summer thought she was going to lose it right then and there; she had never seen Sirius wear his tie. "That woman hates me as it is, so I figured I wouldn't give her any reason to reprimand me."

Summer nodded in understanding as she fought back her grin. "I'm sure she's not the only staff member at this school that isn't too fond of you, but I don't see you trying to impress them."

Sirius shuddered slightly but managed to turn it into a small shrug at the last second. "Yeah, well none of them are as scary as her," he said, studying himself in the mirror to make sure he was presentable enough for the Healer.

"Sirius, if I'd've known you dislike Poppy this much, I would've asked Carmen. I don't understand why you didn't just tell me no. I would've understood."

Sirius turned to her, meeting her eyes forcefully. "I told you I'd be here for you and Sirius Black stands by his word."

"Oh, well if we are referring to ourselves in third person, than Summer Johnson greatly appreciates the sacrifice you are making for her," she tittered slightly, earning a glare from Sirius and chuckle from James and Remus.

"Let's get this over with," Sirius said, ignoring the other's laughter. Summer waved goodbye to the other boys as they walked from the room.

The two made light conversation as they made their way to the Hospital Wing. Sirius hesitated slightly outside the door. He motioned for her to go ahead. "I'm right behind you," he told her.

She rolled her eyes at him slightly before stepping into the cold room. Madam Pomfrey noticed her immediately and made her way to the pregnant girl. "Miss Johnson, I was anticipating your visit," she said softly. Suddenly her features hardened, she was no longer looking at Summer. No doubt she had spotted Sirius. "Ahh, Mr. Black," said the Healer with contempt though she kept her voice steady. "I assume you need medical attention. You don't appear harmed but this wouldn't be the first time you had acquired an injury I couldn't spot at first. You probably got it from some prank or another that back fired, no doubt."

Sirius shifted slightly, he stood a mere two feet behind Summer. "I'm actually just here to offer Summer support, ma'am."

_Ma'am? _Summer almost choked. She had _never _heard Sirius refer to someone as "ma'am." He must really be afraid of Madam Pomfrey. Though she had to admit it was rather amusing to watch him squirm this way. It was so different from the arrogance he usually held himself with. Summer glanced back at in awe, wondering why he didn't just use his "charm" on the Healer.

"It doesn't work on her," he whispered, answering Summer's unasked question.

"No, it doesn't," concurred the Healer. "And it only took Mr. Black here five years to learn that."

Summer felt like pinching herself, surely she was dreaming. Poppy and Sirius were both acting so different from their usual dispositions. Summer found it rather entertaining, she admitted to herself.

"I assume you are the father, Mr. Black," Poppy said sharply.

Sirius shook his head. "Surprisingly, no," he answered. "I'm just here to offer a friend moral support."

Poppy fixed him with a hard look before deciding he was telling the truth. She let out a sigh and instructed Summer to follow her to a bed. Summer lied down just as she was told to. Sirius stood by her head. Summer was watching nervously as the Healer got out a couple different vials, swishing her wand around and muttering spells. She felt a large palm cover her own fidgeting hands. He separated the two and held onto one of them. Summer glanced up at him gratefully. He nodded at her with a small smile.

Finally Madam Pomfrey was ready and turned back to the pair. "I assume you are okay with Mr. Black seeing your bare stomach." Summer nodded before being instructed to place the hand that Sirius wasn't holding by her side. Poppy noticed her shaking slightly. "It's okay, Miss Johnson, we aren't going to do anything that we didn't do last time. Also, I am going to give a few Vitamin Potions that are going to give you the extra nutrients that you and the baby need."

"No." Summer spat out suddenly. Madam Pomfrey glanced at her, alarmed. Summer blushed slightly. "I don't want to take anything that's going to possibly cause harm to the baby."

The Healer nodded her head in understanding. "I won't give you anything that poses any such risks," she assured her. "There are just a few vitamins and nutrients that you need to take that are going to help you and the baby become stronger. No worries though, I will always inform you of any risks of anything I give you."

Summer let out a sigh of relief. "Okay."

"Ready?" Poppy asked. Her hands were on the hem of Summer's shirt. Summer nodded and the Madam pushed it up slightly. She pointed her wand at the bare flesh, muttering a spell. Once again a little nugget glowed beneath her stomach. Summer grinned as she heard Sirius gasp slightly.

Summer stared at the little glowing shape. It was the same as last time though it looked slightly different. "It got bigger?" she questioned, not removing her eyes as the glow began to fade slightly.

Beside her, Madam Pomfrey nodded. "Yes, fetuses grow rather rapidly this early into the pregnancy." She was already poising her wand. With another muttered spell a thumping sound filled the room.

"_Holy shit,_" Sirius whispered.

"Mr. Black!" the Healer screeched, glaring at him. "I will not allow that kind of language in this room. One more outburst from you and I will ask you to leave."

"I'm sorry, Madam," Sirius said, flabbergasted, shuffling slightly and cursing himself for not paying more attention to his actions. "It's just…wow. Is that the heartbeat?"

Summer nodded, in awe herself even though she had already heard it once before. "It's pretty cool, isn't it?"

"That's bloody brilliant," he said, amazed. "There's actually a _living _thing in there."

Madam Pomfrey fought her annoyance though she did roll her eyes slightly. Summer caught the Healer's movement and bit back her giggle. She wondered briefly what Sirius had done to cause the woman to dislike him so much. Then she remembered that he _was _Sirius Black, master of pranks and basic mayhem.

The madam was speaking again, breaking Summer out of her thoughts. "Have you told the father yet?" Poppy asked.

Summer shook her head. "I'm not going to. I don't think he will be much help."

The older woman shrugged slightly. "You never know," she said. "People can surprise you."

"I don't think that will happen here. Besides, I don't need him to raise this baby," Summer told the woman the same thing she had already told her friends numerous times. She had made up her mind that this was _her _baby and hers alone.

"Raising a child alone can be difficult," the Madam told her. "It very well may be the hardest thing you will ever do in your lifetime." Repeating what Summer had already told herself before.

"I…" Summer began, biting her lip. She dropped her head in shame.

"She won't be," Sirius said cogently, causing both women to look at him. "Raising this baby alone, that is," he clarified. "She has friends that are going to be there with her every step of the way."

Summer smiled up at him, appreciation evident in her features. She had already figured that her friends would help her but that had been more of wishful thinking. Hearing one of them say it out loud meant a lot to the pregnant girl. Even Poppy smiled at him a little, a bit of respect sparkling in her eyes.

Summer broke the moment by speaking. "When can I find out what it is?"

Poppy turned her attention back to the girl on the cot. "The genitals usually don't develop until about twenty weeks," she glanced at the girl, reading something in her eyes. "But some woman claim they just _know _what the baby is even before then."

Summer nodded in understanding. "And how accurate is that?"

"Most women who just have a feeling of the gender are usually about ninety percent accurate."

Summer smiled despite herself. She wouldn't have to wait three months to find out the gender of her baby. She already knew. She had never been surer of anything in her life. She knew it her heart, mind, body, and soul. She could feel it all the way down to her toes. She didn't know how she knew. It was as if an angel had whispered it in her ear.

OooOooO

"KEVIN!" Carmen screamed in ecstasy as the headboard slammed against the wall one last time.

"_Oh_," Lily exclaimed, turning around and burying her head in James' chest. "Good work on the Silencing Charm, you two, but you forgot to lock the door."

While Lily was flustered at catching the couple in the act, James was proud of his roommate. "Way to go, Kevin!" he congratulated, turning his head slightly. As Carmen let out a "_Shit!" _whileshe and Kevin quickly covered their naked bodies.

"Is it safe to look yet?" Lily asked. She didn't wait for an answer as she slowly removed her head from James' chest, slowly peeking in the direction of the couple on the bed. "I'm so sorry, Carmen. Carmen?" she asked, staring at her friend. Carmen's head was rested on Kevin's chest and she looked like she was fighting to keep her eyes open.

Kevin glanced down at her, chuckling as he ran a finger through her mussed hair. "She always falls asleep afterwards. I guess it takes a lot out of her," he said as her breathing began to even out.

"I'm sorry again," Lily said nervously. "We'll just…we'll just be going." She grabbed James' hand and pulled him out the door. Once they had closed the door, she slumped against the wall, her face as red as her hair. "That was…wow." She was slightly traumatized by what she had just seen. But there was something else…she was…curious. And her curiosity only added to her embarrassment. Sure she had become more…physical in the past couple weeks that she and James had been dating but the idea of sex, of wanting sex, still ashamed her. James watched her slouch against the wall. He pushed himself against her, resting his forehead against hers.

"What's up, love?"

She let out a sigh. "It's just…will I ever be able to be that…unashamed?"

"Unashamed?" he asked confused. "Of what?" When she didn't answer right away he got the hint. "Do you mean of being able to scream my name in such passion?"

Lily nodded as best as she could with his forehead pressed to hers. "Yeah, I mean, that's just so…so raw, and I don't know. I've always prided myself on being prim and proper, and that's _definitely _not proper."

James chuckled slightly. "Sex isn't about proper," he told her. "It's about two people showing their love in the rawest way. It's about coming together and whatever feels good and right to you."

Lily nodded her head slightly, still not completely believing his words completely. She supposed when the time came she would know what was right. It had to be different when you were actually in the moment, and while it may look a little silly to onlookers, it wasn't about them, it was about the two people who were…connected.

Super Cara  
2011-08-22 . chapter 21

So I'm finally all caught up with this story. and it's SO adorable! (I was too lazy to review each chapter, please forgive me)

I absolutely adore the Siruis/Summer dynamic even if they aren't together. In my mind, Lily and Sirius have that type of relationship lol.

And I liked the whole Carmen/Summer bonding moment too.

I almost don't want this story to end. Is there any possibility of a sequel?

I'm not sure what else to say, soo... yeah... haha. Update soon please! :D

LilyHeartsJames  
2011-08-22 . chapter 21

Wow, another excellent chapter :) Thank God Carmen punched Robyn, she was horrible! It was about time someone did before I broke my computer screen myself :P

Sorry about not reviewing last chapter, I was busy and didn't get around to reading either chapter until I found some time. But they were both amazing, as always :D

I cant wait for the next update :)

aboutBlank  
2011-08-21 . chapter 21

Tsk, tsk, tsk, Carmen. Breaking someones nose and then licking off their blood. Doesn't she know she could get aids? ;)

Great chapter by the way, keep it up!xox :)

Jenn222  
2011-08-21 . chapter 21

Haha "She tripped." i love Carmen. More Lily and James please! There was none this chapter. Great chapter otherwise cant wait for more :)

PeacrLoveBrownies

4BlOnDiE4  
2011-08-21 . chapter 21

A wee bit of being nosy never hurt anyone!

Another chapter complete, a bit more of the plot continued. My next question... When are you going to get back to James and Lily? I can't even recall what is going on between them.. I think there should be come more action.. I always enjoy good action :)

Brilliantly done! Waiting for more...

-A Blonde Haired Girl From Somewhere Out There

imsuchanut  
2011-08-21 . chapter 21

Yayyyyyy! Robyn gets it!


	23. Author's Note Pt 2!

**THIS IS NOT A CHAPTER! **

Hey guys, as you can see, this isn't a chapter. This is just a quite update to inform you all that I have finished this story. I still need to go back and revise some stuff but it's essentially done. I'm rather fond of the last four chapters (well three chapters and an epilogue) Even though I'm done with this story, I'm not going to be throwing the chapters up as soon as some you would probably like.

In one of my little A/N I told you all that I am working on another story Right Where I Belong. I've toyed with this idea for a few years now. It's set six months after Lily and James graduate Hogwarts. I know you all have been demanding L/J action but I just couldn't think of much to write so RWIB is FULL of L/J action ;) Also, it's going to be Mature. That brings me to why I'm not going to be updating this story every few days. Even though I am finished, I would like to start posting RWIB as soon as I am finished posting this story so I need to give myself some time knock out a few chapters.

I work all this weekend but I'm going to be writing as much as I can. Love you all! :D

Oh, I also just realized that I never did get the little one shot up for L/J from Summer Rain, I will edit that real quick and have it up in the next hour or so (Jeeze I have a lot to do before my dentist appointment :P)


	24. Chapter 22

_I won't add much of an author's note since I already bored you with one the other day :P I would like to say that I LOVE LOVE LOVE the feedback I've gotten here lately. Between so far today and yesterday, I've gotten TWENTY EIGHT Notifications (I get them from Author/Story Alerts, Favorite Stories/Author and Reviews so yeah I'm pretty psyched!) Also, so I don't have to put this on every review, I would like to thank those who have been reviewing loyally. You know who you are :)  
_

**Jenn222: **_Haha I probably had more fun writing the library scene than I should've :P I loved the little moment between Summer and Carmen as well, I do that quite often and it's almost never as funny as I made it out to be, I have an odd sense of humor :D _

**4BlOnDiE4: **_I'm sad that's it's over too. I literally teared up when at the end of the last chapter AND the epilogue. I just hope you guys feel that I did this story justice with the ending. I love the bond between Sirius and Summer. I will admit to something though, there is a fic called "Dear Harry" that I'm quite fond of, and there's a character, Lucy, that Sirius is really close with and I kind of based Sirius and Summer off of them, though their bond isn't quite as extreme as Sirius and Lucy. I love the idea of Sirius being like a big brother type to a girl. I think it fits hiim very well, imho. No problem on the L/J at the end :)  
_

**Super Cara: **_I too love Sirius. Very much (probably more than I should love any fictional character :P) I'm glad you liked the chapter. Also, yeah I kinda figured I would do that to a lot of people :P I'm really excited for RWIB, I'm in love with the first chapter and I think it might be some of my best writing. You all should be able to read it in the next couple weeks or so. :)  
_

**Penny L. Pingleton: **_Yay! A new reviewer! :D Aww I'm glad you like this story. Lily and James are my favorite HP couple, hands down. I love the Marauders and Lily. I think I like them more than I like Harry's era. Ever since I started reading the series I've been obsessed with Lily and James, and then the Marauders after the third book :) 210 gold stars? Go me! :P Thanks again for the review. Also, thank you for favoriting this story :) _

**imsuchanut: **_Yes, Lily and James do work wonderfully together. I'm sorry I haven't included much of them in this chapter but we will get back to their relationship in this chapter. Also, like I said in my a/n my next story will contain much more of them. I don't have any other side plots planned so it will be all L/J all the time, as of now. Who knows what my brain will spew out. No, Angelina is not Summer's daughter. (Gah I hate having so much ahead written but I can't reveal it to you guys because it would ruin the story .) I do reveal the sex of the baby and their name in this chapter though. :) Haha James' description of sex was pretty awesome if I do say so myself. _

**LilyHeartsJames: **_I love writing a good awkward scene between Lily and James. She's just so chaste it makes it almost too easy :P Yeah, I've decided that 1) Summer's already had a rough enough life and 2) She's already got the whole school condemning her for this baby, she needed some sort of support group. _

**MaraudersLily7: **_I'm very sad that it's ending as well. I cried when I finished the two last chapters. :( _

**Eleos: **_-tackles- Stupid email -glare- Hahaha I don't have the will power (or the finger strength) to type out a thank you to everything you said in your reviews. I will say this, I got a kick out of reading them and they reminded me why I like you so much :P I hope you get a notification for this one and I hope to get one of your very entertaining and flattering reviews! _

**speedoairhead: **_Thanks for the reviews, I'm glad you like the story. _

_Also, thanks to **thestoryliveson (It won't add your name for some reason, gahh) and fluerdelacourweasley **for favoriting (yes I realize that's a not a word) this story :)  
_

Chapter 22

Summer tugged desperately at her too-tight shirt. It was nearing the end of November and she had found out a month ago that she was pregnant and her belly was already beginning to grow. It was only a few inches but it had made her shirt noticeably uncomfortable. She pulled her shirt up a little rougher than she had intended. "Isabelle, love, why must you do this to Mummy?"

"Isabelle?" Carmen asked, emerging from the bathroom clad only in a towel. "Who, in Merlin's name, are you talking to?"

Summer whipped around quickly, feeling the heat rising in her cheeks. She hadn't realized she had an audience and had somehow managed to keep the gender of her baby a secret from the others for the past few weeks. She hadn't wanted them to think she was nutters for "feeling" that it was a girl. She sighed a little. _I guess the cat's out of the bag, _she thought to herself. She pointed to her bare belly. "The baby, it's a girl."

"Oh, a girl!" Carmen exclaimed, embracing the pregnant girl in a hug. "How exciting! When did you find out?" Confusion suddenly filled her chocolate brown eyes as she added, "Wait, I didn't think you could tell this early."

"Well, technically, I _can't. _But I just know," Summer admitted shyly. She searched Carmen's eyes, and let out a sigh of relief when she realized the girl wasn't thinking her crazy. She smiled broadly. "Her name's Isabelle. Like Is A Belle. Belle is French for beauty." Her eyes dropped slightly. "I know its lame, but…" she trailed off not offering any more of an explanation.

"It's not lame," Carmen assured her. "I think it's perfect. If she's anything like her mother, she will be beautiful. Inside and out." Her hand dropped to Summer's bump. "So what is our dear Isabelle doing to her poor mother?"

"Making me fat," she chastised lovingly as she glanced down at the hand on her belly. "My uniform is tight, it's starting to hurt and I'm afraid the buttons are going to pop off. I know I could do an Enlargement Charm on it but I'm quite horrible at that kind of stuff and I'm afraid I will turn it into a cat or something. I can't very well go to class wearing a cat." She and the other girl burst into a fit of giggles at the mental image.

"For the love of Merlin, could you two keep it down," growled Robyn from her bed. "Some of us don't like to be up at the crack of dawn to get ready for class."

Carmen and Summer shared a glance, rolling their eyes and deciding not to dignify the girl's grouchiness with any more of a response.

"Um, Carmen," Summer asked timidly. "Could you do me a favor?"

"Of course," Carmen answered, making her way to her bureau.

"Could you not tell anyone that it's a girl?" Summer requested, ducking her head slightly. "I don't want them to think I'm crazy. I'll tell everyone when I find out the gender for sure."

Carmen nodded, her dark brown curls bouncing. "Not a problem," Carmen told her. "Though I don't think anyone is going to question your mother's intuition. You've done more for this baby already than some parents do for their kids in their entire life."

Summer shrugged, blushing slightly at the compliment, and she knew Carmen had meant it to be such. "I know, but still…"

Carmen bobbed her head in understanding. The two finished getting ready as the other girl's began to wake up. Summer was still tugging on her shirt when she felt a hand wrap over her belly.

"C'mon, love, kick for Aunt Faith."

Summer giggled, "It's not even developed its legs fully yet." She hated calling her daughter "it." She couldn't wait for eight weeks when she could officially start referring to Isabelle as "she."

She saw Faith's reflection shrug in the mirror. Faith turned and made her way to the bathroom. "Wait!" Summer yelled suddenly. She cursed this nausea. "Can I use the bathroom real quick?"

Faith turned to her and nodded in understanding. "I won't take long," Summer promised as she rushed to the bathroom, barely making it to the toilet in time.

She emerged a few minutes later and had to suppress her giggle as Faith stood in one spot, bouncing slightly. "Sorry," she told the girl.

"Not a problem," Faith assured her, quickly making her way to the room from which Summer had just emerged.

Summer turned to Lily, who was perched on the edge of her bed, stretching. "Hey, Lily," Summer began. "Can you help me with something?" Lily turned her attention to the light-haired girl. Summer glanced down at her stomach and the material that was stretched tightly against it. Lily nodded in understanding, grabbing her wand off the side table. She walked over, swishing her wand slightly and muttering a spell. Summer literally let out a sigh of relief as she felt the shirt loosen on her. "Oh that's so much better," she moaned. "Thanks, Lily."

"My pleasure." Lily smiled at the girl. "I can teach you the charm if you'd like."

Summer nodded in thanks. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it."

Lily shook her head as if to say "no problem" before turning around to start getting ready. Summer turned to Carmen, who was throwing on her cloak. "Want to walk down to breakfast together?" she asked the dark-haired girl.

Carmen nodded at her. "Yeah, just let me finish getting my books together."

OooOooO

Lily and James were in the boys' dorm, laying on James' bed. It was the first time all week they hadn't been surrounded by their friends when together. James was kissing Lily's neck. She hummed in appreciation before pushing him off her slightly.

"I've got to go study, James," she told him, regret filling her emerald green eyes.

James sighed, running his hands through his hair as he pushed himself off her. She saw annoyance replacing desire in his hazel eyes. "We never get to spend any time together," he whined. "I can count on one hand the number of times we've spent more than fifteen minutes alone together since we started going out."

"I know," Lily agreed, letting out a sigh of her own. "It's just with exams coming up I need to study. And the professors have been piling on the homework before the holidays."

"Can't you just take a single night's break from homework?" James asked, exasperated. "I don't think that's asking too much, just one night for me and you."

Lily shook her head. "I can't, James. You know how seriously I take my studies. I'm not going to let anything, not even our relationship get in the way of that. I'm sorry. And besides, it's not totally my fault. Your Quidditch practice and late nights with the guys have been hindering our alone time as well." Her tone wasn't accusing, she was just merely stating facts. It had been nearly impossible for them to find time to spend together.

"Saturday night," James said suddenly. "No Quidditch practice, no homework, no friends, just me and you. What do you say?" he asked though it was more of a demand than a request.

Lily let out a sigh. She mentally ran through all the homework and exams she had coming up. However, she knew he had found a loophole, so to speak. She rarely studied on Saturday nights. It was usually James' plans that got in the way of them spending time on the weekends.

"Okay," she answered finally, grinning from ear to ear. "Saturday night. It's a date."

"Good," James said, obviously pleased. He pulled her to him in another kiss. She allowed his lips to graze hers roughly before pulling away.

"Homework," Lily stated simply.

James let out a sigh. "Okay, okay." He pecked her quickly on the lips once more before releasing the redhead. As she climbed off the bed and started to walk away from him, he slapped her butt. An innocent smile crept upon his face as she yelped and turned around to glare at him slightly. She shook her head, as grin of her own forming at his expression.

"I love you," she said, reaching the door.

"Yeah, yeah," he disregarded her with a wave of his hand.

A look of hurt flashed across her face before she recomposed herself. James immediately regretted his smart arse reply. "I love you too, Lily," he told her, making sure to let her know he meant it. She grinned at him before exiting the room. James let out a slight groan as he flopped back onto his bed.

OooOooO

"Carmen," Summer hissed, hot tears rolling down her cheeks. "Oh, c'mon, Carmen, now is not the time to sleep like the dead," Summer choked out, pushing on the girls back. "Carmen, _please_ wake up."

The sleeping girl finally groaned a little, turning on her side to face Summer though she didn't open her eyes. "Wassamatter?" She pushed back a stray hair that had landed in her face during the movement.

"I had a bad dream," Summer stated hesitantly. "I just wanted you to know that I'm going to Sirius' dorm to stay with him tonight."

Carmen opened her eyes slightly, looking at the girl, fighting to keep from rolling her eyes in annoyance. "Why did you wake me up then?"

Summer bit her bottom lip. "I didn't want everyone to wake up and worry about me. But I couldn't tell Lily or Faith because they would've tried to stop me."

Carmen gave a slight nod of the head. "Okay, I'll tell them in the morning." She turned her head and was immediately asleep.

Summer grinned despite herself, that girl could fall asleep at the drop of a hat. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a pair of flannel trousers, slipping into them. She briefly wondered if she should put on her slippers but decided against it. She was just going to the boys' dorm. She hesitated slightly at the door. Should she really go up there? She knew she wouldn't get in much trouble with Lily and James as long as none of the professors found out. And when Summer told Sirius she was having nightmares the other day, he told her to come up and stay with him whenever she had one.

Summer rolled her eyes slightly at herself. Why did she have to be such a nervous wreck? She knew she had good friends now but she had always been skittish, ever since she was young girl, and rightfully so. Unfortunately two months wasn't enough to overshadow seventeen years of self-doubt. _Just go_, she told herself forcefully before pushing open the door.

She walked into the boys' dorm and made a beeline for Sirius' bed. She pulled the curtains back and felt a breath hitch in her throat. Sirius was laying on his side, leaving plenty of room for Summer. It was as if he had somehow known she would need him tonight. Not wanting to wake the peaceful boy, Summer pushed the covers back gently. She climbed into the bed with as little noise as possible before pulling the curtain back. She positioned herself so that Sirius' body was barely touching hers.

Summer closed her eyes and was about to drift off to sleep when she felt an arm snake around her waist. "Bad dream?" Sirius whispered in her ear.

Summer nodded. "Thanks for letting me come up here," she said, trying to push the image of the dream from her mind.

"Don't thank me," Sirius said, kissing her on the back of the head before the two of them fell back asleep.

Summer woke up the next morning, slightly confused when she felt an arm wrapped around her. She jumped slightly before remembering her nightmare and coming up to the boys' dorm. She relaxed her body, letting the feel of Sirius' chest rising and falling on her back comfort her. She let a smile form on her face as she realized the rest of her dreams had been pleasant. She beamed as she remembered rocking a beautiful baby girl in a wicker rocking chair. The nursery was painted a light pink and the July afternoon sun was bathing the little girl's face. She had the baby bundled up in a white blanket with yellow ducks on it. She smiled down at the girl as her eyes opened slightly. Summer was pleased to see that the little girl had her mother's stunning blue eyes.

All Summer dreamt about anymore was Isabelle. That's what was making the nightmares so bad; they were about terrible things happening to her child and it scared the crap out of Summer. Summer was pulled from her thoughts as Sirius mumbled something in his sleep and snuggled in closer to her. For the first time, she glanced at the clock. Noticing that it was only five, she closed her eyes deciding she could use another hour or so of sleep.

When she awoke again, she was no longer wrapped in Sirius' arm. She stayed where she was, not yet opening her eyes. The conversations of the boys filled her ears. She finally blinked open her eyes. Sirius heard her rustling around as she stretched and turned to her, smiling. "Good morning," he told her, his eyes shining at her. "I was just about to wake you up."

"'Morning," Summer mumbled, swinging her feet over the edge of the bed, letting out a loud yawn. Her hand unconsciously went to her belly. _Good morning, my beautiful baby girl, _Summer said to herself.

"Did you sleep okay?" Sirius asked, slipping into a pair of trousers, his back turned to her.

Summer nodded then blushed at her stupidity. He couldn't hear her head rattling. "Yeah, I did," she said aloud. "Thanks so much, Sirius."

He waved his hand slightly in the air. "Don't mention it."

Summer was finally on her feet and crossing the room. She walked over to Sirius giving him a hug and bidding the other boys goodbye before heading for the door, feeling more rested than she had in almost a month.

OooOooO

It had taken its sweet little time, making the week drag by, but it was finally here. It was Saturday night and James had finally managed to shoo the rest of the boys out of the dorm after much protest. He glanced at the clock. It was five minutes away from seven p.m. Lily would be here any minute. James took a final look around the room. Candles lined the various dressers and side tables. He had also opened the curtains to all the windows. The half-moon shone brightly and the stars winked at him. He nervously paced the room for a moment before walking back to the mirror and making sure his hair looked okay. Merlin, this was going to be the longest five minutes of his life.

He was by his bed, rearranging the plate of strawberries, which he admitted was a little cliché but Lily loved all that mushy stuff, when he heard a knock on the door. He glanced at the clock. Three 'til. _Perfect _he thought to himself. "Come in," he said out loud.

However, it wasn't Lily that filled his vision. He was slightly taken aback as he stared at the dark haired girl. She swayed into the room, moving her hips from side to side, a sweet grin placed upon her lips.

"R-Robyn?" James asked, "What are you doing here? I'm kind of expecting company," he said, motioning to the candles and plate of strawberries.

The smile vanished from Robyn's face and her bottom lip quivered. "Oh," she said, feigning surprise. "I was just…just needing someone to talk to and we made such a connection that day in Potions, I thought maybe you could help me."

James sighed, ruffling his hands through his hair. He glanced at the clock again. Lily would literally be there any minute. He cursed under his breath. Why was it so damn hard for him and Lily to get a single night together?

Robyn picked up on his annoyance and spoke again. "I can just leave." She was headed for the door when James stopped her.

"Wait," he said, letting out a heavy sigh. "Make it quick."

Robyn crossed the room quickly, embracing him in a tight hug. James stumbled a bit and tensely patted her on the back. James heard the door open and before he knew what was happening, Robyn's lips were on his. He heard the gasp. He broke away from Robyn's grip quickly. He turned to run after Lily, calling her name, but she was already halfway down the steps. He cursed the charm on the girl's dorms steps as he tried to catch up to her and slid down the stairs that had turned into a slide.

"James," he turned quickly to see Robyn standing a few feet from him, biting her lip. "I'm so—"

"Don't," he growled. His heart was breaking and it was all Robyn's fault. "What the hell is wrong with you? Can't you go five fucking minutes without ruining everyone's life?" he roared.

He ignored the looks of the stunned students in the room.

"I'm sorry, James," Robyn apologized. "I don't know what came over me. I've liked you for a long time."

"Bullshit!" James yelled. "That's bullshit and you know it. You have zero interest in me. You just can't help but fuck up everyone else's life. You just very well may have made me lose the best thing that has ever happened to me." A moment of clarity made James thankful he didn't have his wand on him. He couldn't promise that he could prevent himself from hexing the girl in front of him.

OooOooO

_Lily's heart was racing with excitement as she climbed the steps. She was grinning like an idiot at the thought of the events that would soon take place. She was finally going to get some alone time with James. No interruptions and no homework. Just her and James. She stood outside the door, wondering if she should knock before entering. Deciding against it as he was expecting her, she placed her hand on the knob, turning it slightly before pushing open the door. _

_She let out a gasp as she comprehended the scene before her. Robyn and James in a tight embrace, kissing. A million words danced on the edge of her tongue but she couldn't force any of them out, she was in too much shock. Her heart began pounding wildly in her chest as she turned from the room, running as fast as she could, fueled by rage and hurt. She vaguely heard James calling her name. She could hear his footsteps as she chased after her. She ignored him and kept running, managing to reach the enchanted girl's steps before he could catch up with her. _

Lily threw open the door to her own dorm. She ignored the bewildered looks from Summer and Faith as she bent over, her hands on her thighs. She was inhaling and exhaling slowly, partly to catch her breath and partly to keep from spewing the contents of her dinner onto the floor. Her eyes burned and she realized the tears were finally falling.

"Lily?" Faith asked urgently as she and Summer jumped off her bed, abandoning their game of cards.

"What happened?" Summer asked, searching Lily quickly for injuries. "What's wrong?"

"James he was…and Robyn," Lily tried to explain between heavy sobs. "They were…Oh Merlin," she yelled, running to the bathroom as the image filled her mind again and she knew she would no longer be able to hold down her previous meal.

Faith and Summer waited outside the bathroom, both staring at each other and not knowing what to say or think. Summer was biting her bottom lip again. It was kind of obvious what Lily was trying to tell them but neither of them could fathom that James would do something like that. They thought he was head over heels in love with Lily. It just wasn't possible. After a few minutes, Lily emerged from the room. Her cheeks were tear-soaked and she was hyperventilating.

"Woah," Summer soothed, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Calm down. Breathe, Lily. Here, come sit down," she said, leading her to the closest bed.

She almost had the distraught redhead settled into a sitting position before she jumped up as if burned. "No!" Lily shouted. "That's… _her… _bed," Lily gasped, fighting for air.

"Shit," Summer mumbled, mentally scolding herself. "I'm sorry, Lily." She led Lily to a different bed. "Sit down and breathe," she instructed. "In…out…in…out…in…out. Good. Good. Atta girl."

Faith stood back, watching in awe as Summer aided their friend. Summer was anything but a leader. She rarely took the initiative in anything, but here she was, taking care of Lily. And with such ease. She was only a couple months pregnant but already her maternal instincts were kicking in full force. While Faith was lost in her thoughts, Summer had managed to calm down the redhead. Faith made her way over to the two, snapping out of her own little trance. She sat on the opposite side of Lily. Summer had pulled the girl to her chest, rubbing small circles on her back and whispering words of comfort to her as Lily cried on her shoulder.

Lily was so incredibly grateful for Summer at this moment. Her heart was breaking and it was a physical pain. Her whole chest felt like an elephant was sitting upon it. She was relieved to be breathing normally again though. Her rage was subsiding a bit and she was no longer thinking of ways to hurt Potter next time she saw him. Now she was hurt. She fought to keep her mind from flashing back to all the good times they had shared, or worse, the image of James kissing Robyn.

Why had he done this to her? How could he have done this to her? Was this his plan all along? To get her to fall for him and then crush her? She couldn't believe she had been so stupid to forgive him and then fall for him. Why did he have to wound her like this? Why couldn't he just leave her alone? Had he been so desperate to crush her spirit that he had gone through all that trouble? Apparently so.

Summer let the girl weep on her shoulder until she cried herself to sleep. She allowed Faith to help her lie the girl down and cover her up.

"What's wrong with Lily?" Carmen asked, noticing the girl was occupying her bed. Dried up tears had stained her cheeks and her face was still red. Even in her sleep she looked like she was torn up.

Summer shook her head. "We don't know the whole story. All we know is that when she went to have her romantic night with James she found James and Robyn _together._"

"What?" Carmen screeched, fighting to keep her low in order to prevent waking up the girl. "That scum," she hissed. "I'm going to give him a piece of my mind," she informed them. Before Faith or Summer could stop the dark-haired girl, she was storming out of the dorm.

"What the hell did you do to Lily, Potter?" she bellowed, throwing open the door. Three pairs of eyes flickered to her.

James was sitting on his bed, his head in his hands, Sirius and Remus on either side of him. Kevin, who had just walked in on the scene not too long ago, stood uncertainly by the edge of the bed. James didn't lift his head at the girl's yelling.

"Look at me!" she demanded. James' sad eyes slowly did as they were instructed. His red-brimmed eyes didn't sway Carmen. It only fueled her anger. She crossed the room quickly until she was standing in front of the boy. "What the hell did you do?" she repeated, her voice low and harsh.

"I—," he gasped, unable to find the words. "I fucked up," he admitted.

"Damn right you did!" she replied. "She loves you and she just cried herself to sleep because of you. Was it worth it, Potter? Was your little rendezvous with the bitch worth hurting Lily?"

"I didn't…I should've stopped her. Robyn—"

Carmen's humorless laugh halted James. "Please, for the love of Merlin, don't try to tell me that Robyn kissed you," she commanded. "That's the oldest story in the book, Potter. Surely you could come up with something better than that."

"It's the truth!" James screamed.

He cringed a bit as Carmen pulled out her wand, pointing it directly at James.

"Carmen, babe, put down the wand," Kevin said, stepping in between the seething girl and James, who had dropped his head back in to his hands. "Why don't…why don't you just listen to what he has to say?"

"I don't give a _fuck_ what he has to say!" she yelled, her chest heaving in anger, though she had lowered her wand slightly. "All I care about is my friend who is upstairs in my bed right now, having cried herself to sleep." She heard James let out a sob and peered around Kevin. "Good! I hope it hurts you to know that Lily cried herself to sleep. I hope you're feeling at least _half _the heartbreak that girl is going through right now. And I hope you know that _you _caused it."

"What if…" Kevin hesitated slightly. He had never seen Carmen this angry. He had always been able to sooth her and the second it became evident he wasn't going to calm her down, he began to worry. "What if he's telling the truth?"

"Ha!" Carmen exclaimed. "What possible reason could he have for Robyn being in his room?"

"She came up here saying she needed help with something," Remus answered quietly.

"What a load of bull," Carmen retorted. "You're going to have to do better than that, Lupin. Robyn Smith doesn't ask for help. That's a fact." Finally she peered around at James again. "You stay away from Lily," she told him. "Don't apologize. Don't try to explain your side. Don't go near her. I don't want you causing her anymore despair than you already have. You won't like the consequences if you upset her any more. You've been warned." With her final words she turned and huffed out of the room.

OooOooO

For the next month, James followed Carmen's instructions. He didn't so much as look in her direction for too long. It wasn't out of fear of what Carmen would do to him. He felt he deserved anything she did to him. He didn't want to cause Lily anymore pain. It was the worst month of his life, watching Lily look like she was dying from the inside out, while he couldn't do anything to help. After about three weeks she was finally looking like she might be getting back to normal though she couldn't look at James without sadness and betrayal shining in her emerald green eyes.

James himself wasn't doing much better. He had lost the most important thing in his life. He had hurt the one person he never wanted to cause pain. His friends tried to be supportive but got tired of his moping after two weeks. They stopped trying to comfort and instead just let him be miserable.

It was difficult for the two as their groups of friends still remained as such. They were all too intertwined for them to completely separate from each other. Kevin and Carmen were dating. Sirius was insisting he be there every step of the pregnancy for Summer. It made everything a big ball of awkward. None of the girls were talking to James as none of them had much connection to him besides the red head. Remus and Lily had been friends for too long for her to stop talking to him. She was somewhat civil to Sirius but wasn't really as close as she had been with him. Carmen and Sirius only spoke of Summer's pregnancy. They had been the two who had been there most for her.

She had kind of drifted away from the others in a search to figure out who she is but Carmen and Sirius had refused to leave her alone, for which she was glad.

The Christmas holidays were just around the corner and everyone was buzzing about what their plans for break, but not this group. Everyone was much too heartbroken to get too excited about anything. Everyone was gathered around the breakfast table on a chilly Monday morning. The following Friday they would all be leaving for the holidays.

"Oh," Summer exclaimed, dropping her fork. Her hand jumped to her belly.

"What?" Sirius and Carmen asked in unison, turning their attention the pregnant girl with alarm. "What's wrong?" Sirius persisted.

"N-nothing," Summer said, tears pooling in her stunning blue eyes. "The baby, it k-kick—Oh! There it goes again!"

Carmen and Sirius immediately put their hands on her stomach, not waiting for permission. She grabbed both their hands and guided them to the spot. The two looked at each other, happiness glowing in their eyes, as they felt a tiny bump against their fingers. Summer smiled at the two of them. You would think they were the one's having the baby and not her. Words couldn't express how grateful she was of their support though. Summer placed her hand on her belly as the other two removed theirs, wanting to give Summer this special moment with her child.

"Mummy's here, love," she said to her stomach. "Mummy's right here."


	25. Chapter 23

_Okay, again, I am updating sooner than I planned (which I assume you all don't mind :P). I have a chapter and a half done of RWIB, and I'm absolutely in love with the first chapter and I'm quite liking the way the second chapter is coming along. The reason this chapter is so early is because I am trying to line up the end of this story with the beginning of the next. So sometime next week you should get the epilogue of this story and then the new story on the same day (Can I get a YAY! ?) I hope you all like this chapter. Also, I would like to thank you all for directing your hatred at Robyn and not at me (I mean, it's perfectly fine by me that you all just think her a horrible person instead of thinking me a horrible author for writing it, I suppose that's a compliment to my writing and the realness of my characters…at least that's just what I'm going to let myself believe :P) Onto to the thank you's. Also, to save myself some time as I'm quite knackered from just working nine hours and to save my fingers some energy, I'm just going to say this now. Yes, Robyn is horrible, and I'm not going to repeat that to every reviewer who said it :P _

**Penny L. Pingleton: **_I think you will be quite pleased with this chapter. Haha yay more gold stars! I'm glad you like the story._

**4BlOnDiE4: **_Aww, I didn't mean to make you angry. I loved the baby kicking part. I had to include that, I one of my friends who cried the first time they felt their baby kick. It really is a magical thing. I'll try to keep up the great work, but I can't make any promises :P _

**Imsuchanut: **_Word wouldn't let me keep your name lowercased . Sorry haha thanks for the review, I hate her too. _

**Thebiggestpotterfreak: **_Again, Word capitalized your username, sorry. I have already addressed your review in a PM. Thanks for reading and reviewing. _

**Jenn222: **_Hahahaha I feel the same way about Bellatrix. I like can't see her in a movie or read about her without feeling angry. I mean, she killed Sirius Black and she runs around bragging about it, ugh! Haha anyway, thanks for the review. _

**Ksalxo: **_Oooh a new reviewer! :D Hahahaha I don't think a broken face affects one's ability to walk, but yeah I get where you are coming from :P I'm glad you liked the chapter and thanks for reading. Yes, as I've explained multiple times, I'm sorry for making it more about Summer, but I didn't have much a plot line with Lily and James so I kinda strayed away from them to a more interesting plot line rather than bore everyone to death. I'm really happy you didn't mind it. I promise we will get back to Lily and James. _

**MaraudersLily7: **_Ahhh, I didn't mean to make anyone cry. Haha you will just have to read the chapter to find out what happens. I rather enjoyed writing the kicking scene. Awww, that's the best compliment a writer can receive (well in my opinion at least). I'm glad you like it. :D_

**Crazymacky: **_I hope you mean the good chills? Hahaa I'm not really sure how I should take that but I'm exhausted and not thinking clearly lol Thanks for the review! _

**LilyHeartsJames: **_Amazing, huh? –head swells- I'm quite pleased with the support Summer has received as well. I couldn't stop grinning when I read the "superb writing" part _

Chapter 23

The day was finally here. Everyone was leaving for the Christmas Holidays. Lily was lying in bed, deciding to sleep in upon finding she didn't have the energy to get out of bed. A month had passed since she had found Robyn and James kissing, and while she was getting over it slowly, she still had days where it came rushing back to her as if it had just happened. Today was one of those days. And today she was going to take full advantage of being able to tell everyone to bugger off while she stayed in her cozy bed. She wasn't leaving for the holidays. She wasn't in any state to deal with her sister, Petunia, and her horrific, magic-hating husband, Vernon. She had written to her parents the night before telling them she was ill and wouldn't be coming home for Christmas.

She hated playing yo-yo with her parents about whether or not she was coming home. She had planned on it until, shortly after they started dating, James invited her to his house for Christmas. She had agreed. Then after the whole disaster she told them that she would be coming home and then once again she changed her mind. Maybe a couple weeks in the nearly deserted castle was what she needed. She hardly had any time to think. Between the break up, her friends trying to keep her from getting too depressed, Head duties and exams, the past month had been hectic.

"Lily!" Summer's voice interrupted her peaceful state. "I have something to tell you."

_Merlin, _Lily groaned, _What's a girl gotta do to get some peace and quiet around here? _ "Please, just go away, Summer. I'm sure it can wait until after the holidays."

"It can't," Summer insisted urgently. "It's important and I have to tell you now. It's about James," she added. Yeah, like that really made Lily want to listen. She forced the urge to roll her eyes as she faced the girl.

_Summer was in the Common Room, walking with Carmen on their way to breakfast. She heard a shrill giggle and glanced over to see Robyn laughing with some friends. She returned Carmen's glare before turning her attention back to her posy. _

"_I warned the bitch that she would pay, even if I couldn't get to her directly," Summer heard Robyn mutter to her friends. She stopped suddenly and Carmen looked at her confused, obviously not having heard the girl. _

"_You go ahead," Summer insisted, feeling the anger bubble up in her. "I'll meet you down there. I forgot something in the dorm," she lied. She knew that if she told Carmen what Robyn had just said, Carmen would step in. For the first time in her life, Summer felt the courage to deal with Robyn herself. She wanted to be the one to settle this. _

_Carmen gave Summer an odd look and she could see in her chocolate brown eyes that she was wondering what the girl could've possibly forgotten. However, she questioned the girl no further and just nodded before walking out of the portrait hole. _

_Summer marched over to Robyn and her crew. "What the hell did you do, Robyn?" she asked, feeling bolder than she ever had in her entire life. She pushed back the little voice in her head telling her this was a terrible idea, that Robyn was going to rip her to shreds. She didn't care what Robyn did to her, for once. She only wanted to get to the bottom of things. _

_Robyn glanced at her, smirking. "Well, well, well, if isn't the tramp coming for a little chat," Robyn sneered, ignoring Summers' question. "How are you doing these days?" Her eyes flickered to her protruding belly. "You know I hear you throwing up in the middle of the night." _

_Summer rolled her eyes slightly. She knew Robyn was only trying to get to her and this time she wasn't going to let her. "Congrats, Robyn, your auditory sense works. I'm so proud of you," Summer told her snidely. She saw the girl mentally teeter. Summer had never spoken to her in such a fashion. It took only a mere second for Robyn to recover though. Before giving Robyn the chance even open her mouth, Summer spoke. "Now, answer my question. What the _fuck_ did you do?" She saw Robyn's mouth perk up a little and added. "And don't give me any of that innocent bullshit. I know you had something to do with Lily and James breaking up." _

_Robyn smiled, as if proud of herself. "My dear friend, I merely gave James what he wanted." _

"_That's rubbish and you know it, Robyn. James can't stand you." _

_Robyn smirked, deciding to give up the rouse. "You're right. He can't. I heard about his and Lily's plans to hang out that night and decided to get back at your little bitch friend for punching me," she bragged. "I went up minutes before Lily was supposed to show and kissed him right as I heard the door opening. I figured they would fight for a couple of days and then make up. I never knew my plan would turn out this well."_

_Summer fought back her gasp along with the urge to hex Robyn. "Why them?" she asked, seething. "Lily never did anything to you. Why didn't you go after Carmen's relationship?" _

_Robyn merely shrugged as if being asked why she hadn't done her homework. "Those losers are too damn close. I knew nothing I could do would tear them apart." _

_Summer was pissed. She had a million things she wanted to say to Robyn, a million names she wanted to call her but she had a more pressing matter to attend to. James would be leaving for the train soon and Lily couldn't spend another minute being pissed at him for something he didn't do. _

Lily's jaw dropped as Summer told her the story. Her mind was racing. She hated herself for not giving James a chance to explain himself. She chastised herself for not realizing it was all just a trick that Robyn had planned. She had one thought on her mind and that was to get to James.

She jumped out of bed, running to the door, not caring that she was only clad in a tank top and pajama bottoms. She threw her hair into a messy ponytail using the band around her wrist. She stopped abruptly at the door, turning to look at Summer. "Thanks," she said. "You're a good friend." A smile perched upon her lips. "And congrats on finally standing up to Robyn."

Summer blushed slightly. "It was no biggie. Now go!" she urged, laughing slightly.

"Right," Lily said, throwing open the door and attempting not to lose her balance and break her neck as she flew down the steps. The students around her were a blur as she ran to the Great Hall. She spotted Remus sitting at one of the tables and made a beeline for him. "Where's…James?" she gasped, trying to catch her breath.

Remus looked at her, alarmed. "Um…he and Sirius are upstairs packing. I told them—" but the redhead didn't hear the rest of his sentence as she was already at the other end of the Hall.

She screamed the password at the startled Fat Lady. The portrait glared down at the flustered redhead. She crossed her arms across her chest indignantly. "That is no way—"

"I gave you the password, now just let me in!" Lily screeched before the Fat Lady huffed at her, swinging open the portrait.

She took the steps two at a time, pushing through her burning legs and her burning lungs. She willed herself not to collapse. _Thank Merlin for adrenaline_, she thought to herself. She didn't bother knocking on the door, opting to just throw it open with much more force and dramatics than was needed. A bewildered Sirius stared at the wild looking redhead as he halted his packing. "Where's James?" she barked out before the boy had a chance to even process a single thought.

She became rather impatient as he took a second to register that she was standing in his room, looking as she if she was about to pass out and demanding the whereabouts of his best mate. "Bathroom," he said, finally, pointing at the door to the aforementioned room. "But he's—" he sighed as the girl was already flinging open the door, "in the shower," he finished lamely though he knew she couldn't hear him.

A rather interesting sight greeted Lily as she came to a halt in the bathroom. James was standing before her, stark naked, water dripping off his bare from. She willed her eyes not to stare as he hastily grabbed a towel, covering himself.

"L-Lily?" he asked, flustered at the sight of his ex. "What are you—"

"I'm so sorry," Lily said, not giving him a chance to finish his statement. "I'm so sorry that I didn't listen to you." She fought back a glare at his confused expression. "Summer heard Robyn bragging about what she had done. She confronted her and Robyn confessed to everything. And I'm just…" Lily cut off suddenly. There was a better way to apologize, she decided, before pressing her lips to his urgently.

She was vaguely aware of James pushing the door shut behind her before wrapping an arm around her waist, while using the other hand to hold up his towel. The two stayed in their embrace for a couple seconds before James pulled away.

He fixed a glare on her. "What makes you think I'm just going to take you back, Lily?" he asked, roughly. "I mean, you haven't said a word to me in a month and you barge in here apologizing and I'm just supposed to forgive you?"

Lily took a step back, her eyes dropping to the floor. Why hadn't she thought of that? Of course he was going to be pissed at her. She hadn't given him the benefit of the doubt so why should he just forgive and forget?

She heard him chuckle and glanced up at him, biting her lip. "I'm just playing, Lily," he admitted, a grin that said he was clearly proud of himself planted on his face. "Of course I forgive you. How can I not after an apology like that?"

Lily glared at him slightly. "You prat," she said, pushing against his bare chest. Another thought crossed her mind. James had never tried to explain himself. "Why didn't you ever just try to tell me what happened?"

James rubbed his neck nervously, glancing down at the floor, ashamed. "Carmen sort of threatened to hex me into the next century if I tried talking to you. And I just kind of figured that you would get over it quicker if I just left you alone," James explained, suddenly realizing how dumb that had been of him. Of course it had only made him look guilty.

Lily pressed herself to him once again, catching his lips with hers. It was the most desperate kiss they had ever shared. They both apologized and forgave with the kiss. They admitted their stupidity in their movements.

"Merlin, Lils," James muttered against her lips. "I've missed you."

Lily smiled, feeling her heart heal under his touch. "I've missed you, too." She was so happy she thought she might explode. All the love she remembered feeling for him came rushing back. She wanted to shout it from the Astronomy Tower that she loved James Potter and that nothing was ever going to bring them apart again. "So, err," she began nervously, taking a step back. "Is that offer to go to your parents with you still available?"

"Of course!" James answered immediately.

"Awesome," Lily said, grinning from ear to ear. "I'll just go pack real quick."

"Uh, Lily," James hesitated slightly, grabbing her arm. "You, uh, might not want to go out like that." He was fighting back his grin as Lily looked at him confused. She followed his gaze to her chest where her shirt had become see-through from the water on James' chest.

"Oh," she said, blushing slightly. She caught the shirt that James tossed at her. She slipped into it, breathing in his scent. Merlin how she had missed that smell. Her hand was on the door knob before she turned back to James, grinning mischievously. "Oh and James, nice package," she complimented, grinning at his towel.

James smirked at her. "Oh you like that, do you?" he asked teasingly.

Lily nodded, wondering why she wasn't blushing like mad, before pulling open the door and hastily making her way to her dorm. Was it just her or was she doing a lot of running this morning? She packed quicker than she ever had in her entire life. She paced the room nervously making sure she had everything. This was the first time in her life she hadn't had a list of what she needed planned out at least a week in advance. She rummaged through her suitcase again. She had a few nice outfits, a few dresses just in case they went to any social events; her wand; a book for light reading; pajamas; all her cosmetics and toiletries. She let out a nervous sigh, sure as one could be that she hadn't forgotten anything. She took a quick shower, throwing on jeans and James' tee-shirt before grabbing her cloak and putting a Shrinking Charm on her suitcase.

She made her way downstairs and found James sitting on the couch waiting for her. "The train's getting ready to leave and we don't have time to eat breakfast so I had the House Elves bring up a few snacks that should hold us over until we get to my parent's place."

Lily nodded, noting the bag of sweets in James' hand. He always thought of everything. She suddenly noticed someone missing. "Where's Sirius?"

"He's going home with Summer," James answered, looking uneasy. "Her parents had insisted that she come home for at least a couple days. I don't understand why though, from what I hear they quite despise her. Anyway, Sirius is going with her so they don't go nuclear on her when they find out she's pregnant. They are going to be coming to the house the day after Christmas and spending the rest of the holiday there. Remus will also be joining us after Christmas. He's got to go to his Gran's for a few days."

Lily nodded, taking all of this in. She was glad that Sirius was going with Summer. Merlin knows that girl is going to need all the help she can get. "Well, we ready?" she asked, taking his hand.

James nodded as the two of them walked out of the Common Room together. "Have a nice holiday," Lily said to The Fat Lady, who was still clearly miffed.

"I see you are in a better mood, Miss Evans," she scowled. Lily nodded, turning to James and pulling him along before the portrait could chide her anymore.

James let out a chuckle. "What did you do to her?"

Lily shrugged slightly. "It's a long story." And she had all the time in the world to tell it to him, she thought to herself, smiling.

OooOooO

"Bloody hell," Lily muttered. She and James had just Apparated to his parent's house, or rather mansion. It was magnificent. It was at least three stories high and was a light blue color. She counted at least a dozen huge dozen windows from where she stood and noted the oak door that was only about half the size of the one leading to the Great Hall. "How many people live here?" Lily asked, looking over at James who was grinning at her reaction.

"Just me and my parents," he answered. "And Sirius moved in when he was sixteen."

"Why is it so big? Surely four people don't need _that_ much space," she reasoned, still in awe. She allowed James to tug her forward.

"It's the house my mum grew up in," James explained as they crossed the huge front yard, following a cobblestone walkway. "She had ten brothers and sisters. Most of them have passed and some moved away but you will still get to meet my Uncle Joshua and his wife, Sarah. And Aunt Morgan and her husband, William. Also, you will get to meet their kids, there's like a dozen of them between the two couples."

Lily glanced up at him as they drew ever closer to the front door. "Your family is very…fertile," she joked. "Why are you an only child then?"

James shrugged. "Mom had problems conceiving. They had given up when they turned thirty or so and then twenty years later I arrived."

Lily chuckled. "That would explain why you are so spoiled."

James grinned. "What can I say? I was a gift from the Gods. My parents have always doted on me."

A light breeze blew in the air, causing Lily to shiver. James pulled her closer, wrapping his arm around her shoulder. She relished in the feeling of his touch. Even when he was holding her tightly he was being gentle, as if she was the finest of China that would easily break.

They reached the door. James put his hand on the knob and pushed open the oak door. "I apologize in advance."

Lily looked up at him, confused. "For what?"

"Lily!" She heard the voice before she saw the woman. An elderly woman came jogging around the corner at a speed that quite surprised Lily. James' mother embraced the redhead in a strong hug. Once again, Lily was astounded by the woman's strength. James had always told her his mother was a tough old bird. "How lovely it is to finally meet you," Katherine Potter gushed, pulling back from the hug slightly. She took Lily's face in her hands, studying the girl's features. "Oh, you are just a beautiful as James described you," she commented, kissing the girl's forehead.

Lily studied the woman. James had her mouth and nose. Her graying brown hair was flowing down her back.

"Kat, love, let the poor girl breathe," Lily heard a voice chuckle. She glanced up and nearly stumbled at the sight that greeted her. It was as if she had stepped into a time machine to the future. Michael Potter was the spitting image of his son. They had the same jaw line, the same hazel eyes, and even, Lily giggled internally, the same messy jet-black hair. His eyes shone with love as he looked at his wife. Hazel eyes quickly landed on Lily as he extended out his hand. Beside her, Katherine was embracing her son in a hug. "Hello, dear, I'm Michael Potter, James' father." Lily shook his hand. "And don't even start any of this Mr. Potter nonsense. Mr. Potter was my father."

Lily found herself grinning. "It's so lovely to meet both of you. James has told me so many wonderful things." She was already in love with James' parents. Lily glanced up at James. She noticed a faraway kind of look as he watched her interact with his parents. He finally snapped back to attention and smiled down at her, grabbing her hand.

"Don't believe a word of it," Mr. Potter said, showing a mischievous grin not unlike his son's. Lily was taken aback once again at the resemblance between the two.

Lily giggled as she noticed a slight movement beside her. "Oh, you two must be starving," Katherine Potter was saying, already making her way to the kitchen.

Michael smiled lovingly after his wife. "They probably just had breakfast," he called though she was already half down the hall. "They do still feed you at Hogwarts, do they not?"

"Yeah, they do, but we missed breakfast this morning," James explained.

"Well, in that case, follow us to the kitchen and we will fix you something to eat." James nodded, his hand on Lily's back as they advanced forward, following the direction his mum had taken off in. "How was the train ride, son?" Michael asked, pulling his son into an embrace.

"It was good," James said grinning. Admittedly he hadn't paid much attention to the ride as he and Lily had been quite preoccupied. James' father noticed the glint in his son's eye and smiled broadly, as if he had read James' mind.

She allowed James to lead her down the long hall, which was lined with pictures, dozens and dozens of pictures of people who slightly resembled Katherine and Michael. She noted a beautiful, spiral stair case to her left. Lily stopped suddenly, her jaw dropping slightly. James watched, amused, as, after the initial shock, her face contorted into confusion. He studied her curiously.

"Everything okay?" he asked, bemused.

"Yeah," Lily assured him. "it's just not what I was expecting. I had pictured something different."

James let out a chuckle. "You've imagined what my kitchen looks like?"

Lily blushed slightly. "Well you told me about the pancake incident, I had to conjure up a mental image, of course. But I didn't imagine anything like this. This is just…this is magnificent."

The kitchen was about a quarter of the size of the Great Hall. The counters were a gray marble color. There was huge island/bar that almost took up the length of the kitchen, a dozen or so stools lining it. The stove was bigger than she had ever seen in her life, with stainless steel pots and pans dangling above it. The cabinets were painted a light green color. The food pantry was huge, almost the size of a normal walk in closet. Lily doubted she had ever seen a prettier sink in her life with its silver knobs.

"What are you hungry for, dear?" Katherine asked, breaking Lily out of her trance.

The redhead turned her attention to the woman. She was standing by the pantry, hand at the ready to grab the ingredients for whatever Lily suggested. "Oh, um…" Lily stuttered slightly as the woman smiled at her patiently. "Whatever you want to make is fine."

Katherine fixed a stern look on the girl. "Now don't tell me that you're one of those girls that don't eat. I hate all this nonsense of girls starving themselves because they don't want to ruin their figure."

Lily giggled slightly. "I eat. I'm just not picky." She realized by the woman's stare that she wasn't going to give in until Lily suggested something. "How about a tuna sandwich?"

Katherine grinned broadly as if she had just been given a prestigious award. "Tuna sandwich it is, then." She turned her back to the others as she dug for the items required. "Do you like crisps?" she asked, still shuffling through the pantry.

"Yeah," Lily answered.

"Have a seat," Michael instructed, motioning to the stools.

James made sure Lily was secure in one of the stools before taking his spot next to hers. Lily blushed slightly as she glanced up and noticed that James' father had watched the interaction between the two. Michael noticed Lily looking at him and turned to her, a knowing smile planted on his face.

Katherine smiled brightly as she set down a small plate in front of Lily. The sandwich was cut in half with the crisps beside it. She handed James a similar looking plate though his was a roast beef sandwich. Katherine noticed Lily looking at James' plate.

"He doesn't like tuna," she stated. "Hasn't ever since he was a little boy."

Katherine saw that Lily had yet to take a bite of her food. "Go on, now, eat," she instructed lightly.

Lily did as she was told, picking up one half of the sandwich and taking a bite. It was easily the best tuna sandwich she had had in her life. She wolfed down the rest of the food on the plate. She hadn't realized how hungry she had been. She hadn't had much time to eat the snacks that James had packed for the train ride. After James was finished eating Michael suggested that he give Lily a tour of the house. James had happily obliged.

Lily walked in a trance for the most of the showing. Each room was as beautiful as the next. Everything was so neat and breathtaking. She imagined what it had been like to grow up in such a wonderful house. Every room was picture perfect, as if it had come straight from a magazine. She followed James up the spiral stairs and they stopped in front of a long, narrow hallway. "The room at the end on the left is my parents," he told her. They took a few steps, passing a room on either side. James stopped and pointed to the room on the left. "That's Sirius' room." Turning around, he faced the room opposite Sirius'. "This is my room," he explained, his hand on the knob. He motioned for Lily to step in and she eagerly did. The room was huge, painted a deep green color. The paintjob gave the room a very dark feeling. Luckily the huge window overlooking the enormous backyard lit the room with natural light. He had a full-size bed, a burnt orange converter and pillows covering it. His room wasn't furnished with much, just the bed, a huge mahogany dresser, and a bedside table.

"It's been kind of empty ever since I started attending Hogwarts," James commented, seemingly reading her mind. Lily nodded.

"So where's my room?" she asked, sitting on the edge of the bed. Upon the confused look James gave her. "Where will I be staying? Are you going to show me?"

"You're looking at it," James answered, a smile perched upon his lips.

"In here?" she asked, shock apparent on her face. "Your parents actually agreed to that?"

James shrugged slightly. "I told you, they dote on me, I get almost everything I want. It took some convincing but they finally agreed."

James stood from the bed, embracing her boyfriend in a hug. "James, that's wonderful. You didn't have to do that though. I would've been find in a guest bedroom."

"I know," James told her, "but I don't want you down the hall, I want you in bed next to me." He pushed his lips against hers. He would've thought that he had gotten enough on the train, but he could never get too much of Lily's kiss.

Lily pulled him down on to the bed so he was lying on top of her. Her tongue grazed his bottom lip and he happily obliged. Her hands flew down the hem of his shirt as she hastily ripped his shirt over his head, breaking their connection only briefly before slamming her lips back to his. She ran her fingers down his well-defined torso, moaning slightly into his mouth. James brought his hand up, wrapping his fingers in her hair.

After a few minutes of kissing, James pulled away slightly. He glanced down at Lily's, well his, shirt, desire in his hazel eyes. He looked up at Lily, meeting her eyes, asking for permission. Lily's own emerald orbs were clouded over with want. She bit her lip before nodding. James grinned broadly before reaching for the hem of the shirt, pulling it over her head. He stared at her bra covered milky breast for a second before bringing his hand to it, massing the mound through the material, before crashing his lips back on Lily's.

He smiled against her mouth as she moaned in response to his teasing of her breast. He grinned cheekily at her before moving his mouth down to the mound. He began to nibble and swirl his tongue around as she wiggled beneath him.

Neither of them heard the door open, though they did hear James' father speaking. "Hey, you two—Oh oops," he said, taking a step back towards the door as Lily pushed James off her and threw his shirt over her near bare chest. "I'm sorry, I should've knocked." Lily was slightly taken aback by how calm he was about the whole situation. "Whenever you two are ready, Katherine would like for you to come downstairs."

Lily could do nothing but stare at the bed converter as she felt her face flame up. James nodded, sitting up, running a hand through his hand. "Sure thing, Dad. We'll be down in a few minutes."

"Take your time, no hurry," Michael insisted before leaving the room, making sure to close the door behind him.

James glanced over at Lily and fought back a chuckle at her humiliated state. She was so cute when she was embarrassed. "What are you smirking at, Potter?" she spit at him. "I don't see anything funny about this situation. That was horrible."

"Nah, that wasn't bad. He doesn't care." James said.

"He may not care, but I sure as Merlin do," Lily said, pulling on the shirt roughly. "We were…you were…" she drifted off, too embarrassed to even say aloud what James' father had walked in on.

"What that?" James asked. "That was nothing. I can assure you, my dad has done more than that, obviously. Taking so long to have me wasn't from lack of trying."

"Either way, I'm not going down there," Lily insisted stubbornly, her arms crossing.

"What? So are you just going to hide in my room for the rest of the holiday? That's ridiculous, Lily," he told her. She bit her lip, realizing that staying holed up in the room wasn't really an option. "C'mon, I promise you, it's fine." It took a few more minutes of coaxing and reassurance but James finally got Lily to take his hand and walk downstairs with him.


	26. Chapter 24

_Okay, I'm doing things a little differently today because I have more important matters to attend to. I'm not going to replying to my reviews but THANK YOU TO EVERYONE WHO TOOK THE TIME TO REVIEW. And I will personally think **Eleos, **your compliment of saying reading the books will feel weird when they don't mention Summer was one of the best compliments I have ever received in the ten years I've been writing (actually, I think it ties for first with the time my friend Elyse called me the Goddess of Writing :D, but either way it was amazing!). Also, I have some good news. I have chapter 3 of RWIB almost done (I'm trying to get four chapters of it done before I post it.) Now for some really good news. On Wednesday (at least that's what I'm aiming for) I will post three new things for you. (Two of them on here and one on FictionPress, this sites sister for original works) The story is called _Losing Hope and Finding Love _I hope you all check it out. My username on there is **TaraLin89. **So on Wednesday, you shall receive: The Epilogue for this story. Chapter One of Right Where I Belong, and the Prologue for Losing Hope and Finding Love_. I hope that makes up for not taking the time to reply to my reviewers today and I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 24

A small _pop _outside of James' door woke Lily up. The moonlight spilled over the boys' face as Lily glanced back at him. She heard people talking outside of the door and turned around, facing her boyfriend.

"James," she hissed urgently, shaking his shoulder. "James there's someone in the hallway. "

"Huh?" James asked sleepily, slowly opening his eyes.

"I heard a pop like someone Apparated and then there were voices in the hallway, listen." Lily and James stopped all movement to strain their ears. There was indeed someone outside in the hallway, talking in low voices but loud enough that the sound had traveled to the couple.

"Wait here," James demanded, grabbing his wand and glasses off the bedside table. Lily sat up, her back against the headboard as she watched James walk to the door, his wand at the ready. He slowly opened the door. "Who's...Sirius?" he asked, confusion evident in his voice.

"Sorry, mate, didn't mean to wake you, we were trying to be quiet," Lily heard Sirius say from the hallway, she slid out of the bed walking to where James stood.

"You nearly gave Lily, here, a heart attack," James said, wrapping his arm around the sleepy redhead. "Why are you two sneaking in at three in the morning? I thought you were staying at Summer's until after Christmas."

Sirius beamed, Summer however was standing next to him looking rather uncomfortable and on the verge of tears. "Oh, bloody hell, it was awesome! I wish you two could've seen it. I'm so proud of Summer."

"Well why don't you two come into my room and tell us. I don't want to wake Mum and Dad," James suggested. The four made their way back into the room, settling on James' bed.

_Summer bit her bottom lip as she and Sirius stood outside her front door. He noticed her hesitation to open the door and placed his hand on her back. "You going to be okay?" he asked. Summer nodded before letting out a sigh. She placed her hand on the knob, twisting and pushing slightly. The two stepped into an empty den. _

"_Mum, Dad, I'm home," she called. She allowed Sirius to help her out of her cloak before hanging it up along with his. She turned around to see a woman who looked a lot like her and a man with blond hair and hazel eyes walking into the room. She saw them take in a sharp breath as they noticed her stomach. _

"_Honestly, Summer? You couldn't have at least warned us in a letter or something?" asked Mrs. Johnson. _

What the hell? _Sirius wondered beside her, _They didn't even say hello first. _He bit his tongue, which was not something Sirius Black did easily. _

"_I—I felt this was something you needed to be told in person, not in some letter," Summer explained, dropping her head slightly. _

_Her mother let out a sigh, turning her attention to Sirius. "This must be the father, no doubt. At least he's good looking." _

_Sirius felt his jaw drop slightly and quickly closed his mouth before anybody noticed. "I'm Sirius Black," he said, outstretching his hand towards Mrs. Johnson. _

"_A Black?" Summer's father screeched, turning towards his daughter. "You brought a _Black _into this house?" he asked angrily. _

"_He's not like the rest of them," Summer muttered, willing herself not to cry. _

"_It's true," Sirius said, feeling himself grow more pissed by the second. "They actually disowned me. I'm a Black by name only." _

"_Uh huh," Mrs. Johnson said in disbelief, eyeing him up and down. "Well I supposed we can always give the baby our last name," she added thoughtfully. "That way there is no confusion. Wouldn't want our grandchild getting mixed up in the wrong crowd." _

Do these people have no filter? _Sirius thought to himself angrily. Worse than their comments was Summer's reaction. She just stood there and took it. Not even bothering to defend herself. _

"_He's not the father," Summer muttered quietly though she knew her parents had heard her. She was extremely grateful as she felt Sirius' hand around her shoulder. He was tense though, as if he was having a hard time not hexing her parents. _

_They glared at her slightly. "Do you even know who the father is?" her mother asked, exasperated._

_Summer shook her head slightly, willing the tears not to fall. She was biting her bottom lip so hard she could taste the blood. She watched as her mother pinched the bridge of her nose. "Go upstairs and unpack. We will talk about this later." _

_Summer immediately picked up her bag and hastily made her way to her room. Sirius followed suit. They reached her room and she closed the door, leaning against it as she broke into heavy sobs. Sirius engulfed her in a hug. "Why didn't you just tell them I'm the father, love?" Sirius asked, running his fingers through her hair as she cried against his chest. "I told you I don't mind." _

_Summer shook her head. "I can't lie to my parents." _

"_Why not?" Sirius asked. "They have no qualms about being complete arses to you, so why should you care about whether or not you lie to them?" _

_Summer shrugged. "I just feel like if they catch me in a lie I'm going to be in more trouble, so it's just easier to tell the truth and deal with the consequences." Summer sighed, pushing back the tears. "We better unpack and go downstairs. I'll show you to your room." _

_The rest of the evening was filled with snide remarks from Summer's parents, Summer sitting there taking them, and Sirius fighting back his urge to hex them. It was a stressful evening all around and Sirius was happy when Summer told them that she and Sirius were heading for bed. At least now she would get away from them. He had offered to stay with her, but she insisted against it. _

"_I'll be in so much trouble if they find out. I'll be okay, I promise." _

_Sirius wished he hadn't taken no for an answer when he was awoken late at night to the sound of yelling coming from the kitchen downstairs. He rolled over in his bed and glanced at the clock. It was quarter after two in the morning. Were Summer's parents really yelling at her at two in the morning? He and his mother had had their rows, but she never sacrificed her beauty sleep to tell him what a horrible person he was. _

_Sirius stood from the bed quickly, reaching for his wand before deciding against it, just to be safe. He was already on the breaking point. He made his way down the steps as quietly as possible as the voices grew closer. _

"—_can't believe you would do something like this to us, Summer! After everything we sacrificed for you! I worked two jobs to support you," Summer's mother bellowed. Sirius stopped in the door way. Summer and her father were sitting at the table while Mrs. Johnson paced around the kitchen. "I just don't understand why you would do something so stupid." _

_Sirius felt his heart breaking. Summer was a sweet girl and already had a lot on her plate with this baby, and now her parents were adding to her stress. Sure, nobody had expected them to be _thrilled _at the idea, but there was no need for them to react this way. Summer glanced up suddenly, feeling Sirius' eyes on her. There was something in his eyes. She couldn't quite pinpoint it but it lit a fire in her belly. She was suddenly pissed; Pissed at her mother for screaming at her like this, and pissed at herself for just sitting back and taking it. _

"_Like you're so much better," she mumbled, though it was loud enough to catch her parent's attention. _

"_I'm sorry," her mother said snidely, "What was that?" _

_Summer sat up a little bit straighter, meeting her mother's eyes. She knew most of this bravery was just pregnancy hormones but bloody hell, she'd had enough. A person could only take so much before they broke. Her parents had worn her down, made her compliant, but she was done being that scared little girl that just sat back and allowed it to happen. "I said 'Like you're so much better,'" she said forcefully. "Or have you forgotten that you were my age when you had me?" she asked, standing from her chair. _

"_How dare you talk to me that way," her mother retorted. "Your father and I—" _

"_You what? Worked three jobs between the two of you? Yeah, I know, you told me every day of my bloody life. That wasn't my fault. That was because you fucked up. I didn't ask to be born and ruin your precious youth." A part of Summer was terrified. _Just apologize _it said _Just take it back and tell them you're sorry and hope they forgive you. _But a much bigger part of Summer pushed that idea away. Her parents never had any problem telling her what was on their mind; it was time they got a taste of their own medicine. _

"_Sit back down, Summer," her mother instructed. "I will not tolerate you talking to me like this. _Sit down!" _she repeated. _

"_No," Summer told her boldly. "I won't sit down and let you scream at me. In fact, I'm leaving. I'm not spending another minute in this house." _

"_You can't leave, I forbid it," her mother said. "Christopher, do something!" _

"_Sit down, Summer," her father instructed. _

"_No, Daddy, I'm not sitting down. I'm leaving. And I'll tell you both something else, I love this baby. I may not know who the father is, I know I made a mistake, but I'm going to do everything I have to in order to fix it and make sure this child has a good life." She turned her back on her parents, walking towards Sirius who was beaming at her. _

_She kept walking as her parents followed after her, shouting. "Get back here! You can't leave, I won't allow it!" her mother demanded. "How do you expect to raise this child on your own?" _

_That halted Summer's movements. She turned to her mother, her face surprisingly calm. "It shouldn't be too hard. You have already taught me everything not to do," she replied coolly before turning back around and making her way up the steps with Sirius. _

"_That was bloody amazing, Summer," Sirius beamed as they threw her belongings in her suitcase. "I'm so proud of you!" _

_Summer dropped her head slightly, feeling her face warm. "Thanks." _

"_Don't thank me. That was all you, love," he insisted. _

"_You did help though," she explained. "I took one look at you and just knew I had the guts to do it. I knew I had you there and that made it so much easier to say what I've always wanted to say to them. For once, I wasn't alone when it came to dealing with my parents. Thanks for that, Sirius," she said, pulling him into a hug. _

"_Seriously, I didn't do anything. That was all you," he told her. "Now let's hurry up and finish packing. We can go to James'." _

"_That's good," Summer said, exhaling. "I honestly didn't know where I planned on going. I just knew I couldn't stay here any longer." _

Lily had to resist the urge to tackle the pregnant girl in a hug as Sirius finished up the story. James held a proud look in his hazel eyes. James wrapped his arms around her shoulders. "We're proud of you, Summer."

Summer nodded, a tear making its way down her cheek. Sirius reached up and wiped it away. "I'm sorry," Summer sniffled. "I'm just relieved. And I'm scared shitless. I have no idea how I'm going to do this all now. My parent's would've bitched but they would've helped me out."

"You don't need them," Lily told her. "You have all of us. We will help out."

"My Uncle Alphard died and left me his place and some money, you can move in there with me," Sirius offered.

Summer, of course, declined saying she couldn't let him do that. It took some convincing but she finally agreed. The others all stayed up talking for another half hour or so before Summer and Sirius made their way to Sirius' room. "You're staying with me," Sirius said, making it clear there would be no argument in the matter. "I'm not taking no for an answer this time." Summer nodded, too exhausted and stressed out to tell him no.

The next morning, Lily awoke with her head on James' chest. She snuggled in closer, bathing in the winter sun that was shining in through the window, warming her and James. Her bliss was interrupted as the door flew open. She glanced over to see Sirius clad in only boxers standing in the doorway. His hair was sticking up and he had a concerned look in his grey eyes.

"Have you two seen Summer?" he asked, urgently. "She's not in bed or the bathroom."

"Did you check downstairs?" James suggested. His voice was groggy from sleep and slightly annoyed at being woken up in such a manner. "You do remember how huge this house is, right? She could be anywhere."

"Err…right," Sirius stumbled over his words, slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, she just wasn't in the bed and I panicked. I'll go check downstairs." He made his way down to the lower floor. He let out a sigh of relief as he found Summer sitting at the bar, talking and laughing as Katherine Potter set a plate of pancakes in front of her.

"Mmm, those look delicious," Summer said, picking up her fork.

"I'm sure they are, James and I didn't help make them, so you're safe," Sirius said with a light chuckle. "Good morning, Mum," he said, walking over to the elderly lady and pressing a kiss to her forehead.

"Sirius!" she exclaimed, engulfing him in a hug. "I thought the days of you sneaking in and out in the middle of the night were over. I guess some things never change," the elderly woman said in a mock exasperated tone.

Sirius laughed. "It wasn't my fault this time, Mum. Summer over there went off on her parents. It was brilliant."

Katherine nodded her head. "I know, Summer already explained the situation to me. We've been up for at least an hour now, talking." She looked Sirius up and down. "Now why don't you go put on some decent clothes?"

"Sorry, Mum," Sirius muttered. "I just kind of freaked when Summer wasn't in the bed and I came looking for her."

"Well as you can see, she's perfectly fine, so go get dressed."

Sirius nodded before walking over to Summer, pressing a kiss to her forehead and stealing a bite of her pancakes, causing her to giggle, before dashing back upstairs. Katherine watched after him, shaking her head slightly, a stowaway smile on her face. "He's a good kid," she said. "He had a rough life and he's bit of a pain in the arse sometimes, but he's a good lad."

Summer nodded her head in agreement. "Yeah, he really is. He's helped me even more than he realizes." She noticed the look Katherine was giving her. "Oh no, it's nothing like that. I love Sirius, just not that way. He's been like a big brother to me."

"He's good at that," Katherine said, turning back to her cooking. "He and James have been attached at the hip ever since their first year at Hogwarts. He's like a second son to me and Michael."

"'Morning, Mum," James' voice filled the room as he crossed the huge kitchen to kiss his mother on the forehead. "Hello, Summer, you gave Sirius quite the scare."

Summer bit her bottom lip. "I didn't mean to worry him. I just couldn't sleep."

"He's a big boy. I'm sure he's already over it," James assured her. He took his seat at the bar next to Lily as Katherine greeted her before setting a plate of pancakes before each of them.

OooOooO

It was Christmas day and the house was packed. Lily and Summer stood in the corner, trying to remember everyone's names. "I think that one's his Aunt Sarah," Lily said, pointing to a lady with long blonde hair. "And that's obviously his Uncle Joshua, he looks like Katherine."

Summer nodded in agreement when she felt small hands on her belly. She glanced down to see a little boy about three or four touching her stomach. She knew it was Morgan and William's child, but couldn't remember his name. She was pretty sure it was Daniel or Dylan, something like that. "Do you have a baby in your belly like my Aunt Jasmine?" he asked.

Summer smiled down at him, nodding. "Yes, I do, sweetie."

"Mum!" he bellowed, "Summer has a baby in her belly just like Auntie Jazz!"

Summer felt her face redden as a woman with shiny black hair and hazel eyes walked over to them. "Yes she does, Daniel," his mother said. "But there's no need to shout. Why don't you go play with your cousins?" She smiled down at him as he took off in a run before glancing back up at Summer. "I'm sorry about that."

"Oh, it's no problem," Summer insisted. "He's cute."

Morgan smiled at her. "That he is. When is your little one due?"

"End of June," Summer said.

Morgan nodded, unsure of what to say next. "Well, I'm going to go see if Katherine needs help. I'm sure she'll just shoo me out of kitchen, but it's worth a shot."

Summer nodded as she and Lily watched the woman walk away. The rest of the day was filled with laughter, good food, and wonderful company. All of James' family was simply amazing. For the first day in a while, Summer didn't think about what she was going to do after Hogwarts or worry about how she was going to raise this baby. She laughed and enjoyed herself.

OooOooO

The day after Christmas, Remus arrived at the house. Sirius, Summer, James, and Lily were gathered around the island, chattering about the day before, still abuzz from the food and Christmas high. When Remus Apparated into the kitchen, Lily was the first to hop down from her stool and greet him. The others followed suit and they spent a while talking about their Christmas and Sirius told him of Summer going off on her parents. Remus told Summer he was proud of her.

Later that day, Lily, James and Remus were gathered around in the den, playing a game of Exploding Snap and just relaxing. Sirius and Summer had gone to town. Sirius had something he wanted to get but wouldn't tell any of them what it was.

Suddenly the front door opened. Summer walked into the sitting room, her cheeks and nose pink from the cold. "You lot will never believe what he bought!"

"What is it?" James asked.

Summer beamed. "You'll have to come see."

The others all stood up, grabbing their cloaks as they followed the light haired girl out the door. Sirius stood in the front yard, beaming, as he stood next to a black motorcycle.

"Oh dear," Lily said.

"What? What is that thing?" James asked.

"It's a motorcycle."

"Well what's it do?"

"You ride it," Remus answered.

The four made their way closer to Sirius. He was the happiest they had all seen him in a while. Christmas may have come a day late for him, but it definitely made up for it. He straddled the motorcycle, revving it up. "Who wants a ride?"

"It's so much fun!" Summer said giddily. "He even enchanted it to fly."

"That's wicked!" James exclaimed. "Me first!" he said, hopping on the back of the bike. The others watched, amused as the two flew above their heads, whooping and hollering.

Lily shook her head, a smile playing at her lips. "Boys," she muttered.

"We'll be back," called down to them. "I wanna take a quick ride around town."

"Is that safe?" Lily asked.

"Don't worry, I'll be safe. I'll make sure James gets back to you in one piece." Lily laughed as they took off. She shivered slightly. "C'mon, let's head back in. It's too cold to stand out here."

The others easily obliged and they made their way back into the warm house.

"A motorcycle," Lily said, shaking her head. "Although I have to say, I can't think of a Muggle item that fits Sirius better."

James and Sirius returned an hour or so later, nearly frozen and buzzing with excitement. They told everyone of the ride, how fast they got the bike to go, et cetera. "I'm thinking about getting one," James told Lily.

"Oh Merlin, thanks a lot Sirius!"

"Me?" he asked. "What'd I do? It's not my fault if James agrees with me that the motorcycle is bad arse. It's like a broom, but ten times better."

Lily and Summer glance at each other, shaking their heads at the boys.

The rest of the holiday was filled with lazing around the house and Sirius taking everyone for rides on the motorcycle. He had even managed to coax Lily on it for a ride around town though he grumbled the whole time because she made him go slow. Michael had been absolutely intrigued with the thing, spending an hour outside with Sirius, talking to him about it. Sirius had offered to let Michael take it out for a spin. He shook his head, laughing.

"I would probably break a hip or something. Plus, Kat would murder me."

When the day arrived for everyone to go back to school, there was a quiet calm as everyone gathered their things. They stood at the door, telling Mr. and Mrs. Potter goodbye. A sadness hung thick in the air.

"It was lovely meeting you, Lily and Summer," Katherine said, engulfing them both in a hug. "Take good care of my son, make sure he stays out of trouble," she whispered in Lily's ear.

Lily giggled and nodded.

"You know it's not very nice to talk about me when I'm right here, Mum."

Fifteen minutes later the kids were all walking out the door, waving one last goodbye to James' parents. "We'll see you all this summer," Michael called. "Enjoy your last semester at Hogwarts."

OooOooO

"Lily! Summer!" a voice called. The two girls looked up to see Faith leaving Dean's side as she ran towards the group.

"Faith!" they said, pulling the girl into a tight hug. "How was your holiday?" Lily asked once the three girls pulled away from each other.

"It was amazing," Faith gushed. "Dean's parents are amazing. And I even managed not to break anything while I was there!"

"I'm so glad to hear that," Lily said as Carmen and Kevin walked towards them, hand in hand.

Everyone greeted the two newcomers and the whistle for the train blew one last time before they all climbed onto the train. The found a cabin and settled in for the train ride back. Sirius told Kevin about his new bike while Summer told Carmen about standing up to her parents.

"I wish I could've been there to see it!" Carmen admitted. "I'm so proud of you, Summer."

The ride ended much too soon for all of them and they split the group in two, making their way to the carriages pulled by Thestrals. Gathering in front of the castle, they all stopped, looking at each other. Everyone around them were chatting and making their way to the building, but the friends just stood there in silence. The couples were holding hands and Sirius had his arm around Summer's shoulders. This was it. In five months they would be thrust in the real world. They all knew they had their whole lives ahead of them and getting through this last semester was just the beginning. Everyone took one last look around at each other before heading in to the castle together.


	27. Epilogue

_Okay. Here. It. Is. The last and final chapter. I'm going to make quick of the thank you's and this A/N won't be that long. I love this chapter. I think it is some of my best writing and I (personally) believe I did a half way decent job of portraying them all as a little bit older. I loved writing Isabelle, she was so adorable. I'm really sad that this story is over but I really think I did the story justice with this Epilogue and I sincerely hope you all feel the same. I'm going to ask you a favor though. I'm quite depressed about this story being over so if you read the chapter PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE leave me a review. It doesn't have to be anything special or long and drawn out, just something to show that my hard work hasn't gone unappreciated. :) Now onto the thank you's. Also, shortly after I post this, I will be typing a quick author's note for Right Where I Belong and then post that one. Also, my original work will be up after I get off work at eleven tonight (I can't post it on the site until after eight but I won't be off work til eleven, so I didn't lie, you will still get it today, just not at the same time as these two new chapters. Sorry .)  
_

**Eleos: **_You are speshul, dear :D __Yes I do love your long, rambling reviews. They make me smile and inflate my ego. :D And what do you mean that this is the last time you are reviewing this story? Are you not going to review this chapter? -pouts- Thanks once again for the long, wonderful, entertaining review! I hope to see you enjoy my next story as well! _

**imsuchanut: **_Aww thanks! I hope you feel the same about this chapter. :) _

__**4BlOnDiE4: **_I'm upset it's ending (ended?) too. I really hope you like the new story. Thanks so much for your loyal reviews. _

**LilyHeartsJames: **_Thanks for the faithful reviews. Yeah, that was my plan all along was to kind of show Summer growing and you will see more of how much she has progressed in this epilogue. Haha of course I had to incorporate the motorbike. I always kind of seen it as an after school thing too, but I thought it fit well where I put it in the story. Thanks again for the review! _

__**MaraudersLily7: **_I was rather proud of her for finally standing up to her parents. Thanks for the reviews :)_

**Lilac1286: **_You scared me! Haha I read the first line and was like "-bottom lip trembles-__ w-what did I do?" Then I kept reading and smiled. I'm terribly sorry you had the read the whole thing on your cellphone but words can't describe how awesome of a compliment that is. Thank you so much for reviewing and I'm really glad you like the story and think I'm a "fantabulous" writer :D _**  
**

Wishing for a Miracle

Epilogue

Summer stood outside a door, raising her fist to knock on the wood. She glanced down at her daughter, whose face was contorted into a pout that only a three year old can perfect. Summer let out a little sigh. "Mummy's not mad, Belle," she told her daughter as stunning blue eyes looked up at her, shining with tears. Isabelle was the spitting image of her mother. The only trace of her unknown father was the coal black hair that Summer had pulled back in to a pony tail. Summer had fought with the toddler for quite some time in order to fix her hair, but in the end she was quite pleased with how the natural ringlets looked in the ponytail. "I was just frustrated, but not at you, okay, love?" she insisted. Isabelle bobbed her head, her bottom lip still jutting out.

Summer rapped on the door as a small summer breeze blew her dress around her knees. She placed her hand on Isabelle's shoulder as the door opened. Kevin stood before her in a button down white shirt and shorts. "Hey," he said, stepping aside. "Come on in."

Summer and Isabelle stepped inside as the toddler clung to her mother's leg. "Everything okay?" Kevin asked, looking down at the little girl. Isabelle tensely nodded her head. Kevin turned his attention back to Summer.

"Sorry we're late, I wanted to come by early and help Carmen but I spent a half hour searching for Belle's shoe until I discovered she'd thrown it in the toilet." Kevin let out a slight laugh, looking down at the toddler, whose face had immediately brightened at the sound of Carmen's name. She tugged at her mum's dressed slightly, beaming at her, her deep blue eyes begging. "Go on, love." Summer nodded at her.

The three-year-old took off in a run, "Auntie Carmen!" she bellowed.

"Isabelle, no running!" Summer called after her daughter sternly, shaking her head slightly.

"What am I chopped liver?" Kevin asked jokingly, he had long ago accepted that Isabelle preferred his girlfriend over him. Kevin chuckled slightly. "So the toilet, huh?" Summer only replied with a small smile. "Where's Jonathan?" he asked.

Jonathan was Summer's fiancé. She had met him in the store a couple months after Isabelle was born, it was mid-September and the two and a half month old was having a meltdown in the middle of Summer's grocery shopping. Summer was rocking the distraught child, shushing her and on the verge of tears herself. "Can I see her?" she heard over Isabelle's screaming. She glanced up to see a handsome man about her age watching her and the child. At the shocked look Summer gave him, he shook his head, embarrassed. "Stupid question, I'm sorry. Hold her to your chest, and bend at the knees." There was something about his stunning sea green eyes and kind face that made Summer want to trust him. Not to mention that at this point she was desperate enough to try just about anything.

She did as instructed and felt slightly ridiculous but after only a few seconds, the little girl's screaming had subsided and she let out a few hiccups. Summer gaped at her, shocked. It had actually worked. She stared at the man. "Thank you so much," she gushed.

He shook his head, short brown curls swaying slightly. "Don't thank me. It's just a little trick I've picked up on. I'm the oldest of seven children," He told her. "I'm Jonathan, by the way," he said, extending his hand.

Summer stated her name, shifting the infant awkwardly to shake his outstretched hand. "And who's this little beauty?" Jonathan asked, stroking Isabelle's cheek. Normally Summer would've flipped. She was very protective of her child, but there was something telling her that she could trust Jonathan. And if there was anything Summer had learned in the past few years, it had been to trust her instinct.

"Isabelle," Summer told him.

They stood there talking for a few more minutes and Jonathan asked her out on a date. Summer declined politely. She hadn't spent a night away from Isabelle since she had been born and she was more than hesitant to do so.

A few weeks later Summer had been on a lunch date with Sirius, Carmen and Kevin. Jonathan came up to the table and once again asked her out. Summer politely told him no again. Carmen, of course, had intervened, telling him that Summer would love to go out with him, and that she and Kevin would babysit the baby. Summer shot a glare at Carmen but eventually gave in. It took only a few short months for Summer to fall for Jonathan and him to fall for her and her child.

"He got called into work," Summer sighed, rolling her eyes slightly. "He's trying to get as many hours in as he can before the baby gets here," she said, patting her protruding belly. She was about five months along, "and his boss takes full advantage of that. It's starting to annoy me. It was fine at first, but now he's starting to use Jonathan."

Before either could say another word, the door opened. A man with long black hair falling into his stunning grey eyes emerged from behind the door. He immediately engulfed Summer in a hug. "Hello, Sirius," she giggled.

"Hello, love," he replied, stepping back. "How's my favorite new mummy to be?"

Summer let out a light laugh. "I heard you say that exact same thing to Lily last week."

Sirius waved his hand. "I only say that to her to make her feel special. You know you'll always be my favorite. Just don't tell her that, these pregnancy hormones make her scary."

Summer giggled, nodding. "Well in that case, my back's killing me and my feet are swollen but other than that I'm wonderful," she said.

"You should've thought of that before you and Jonathan started shagging," he chastised jokingly.

"Uncle Sirius!" a little voice interrupted.

"Ah," he said, bending down and scooping the little girl up in his arms. "There's my favorite girl!" He pressed a kiss to her forehead. "How're you, love?"

"I threw my shoe in the toilet!" she beamed proudly.

"Atta girl!" Sirius congratulated her. He ignored the small glare from Summer, a smile playing at his lips.

Isabelle looked at her mother. "Mummy, what's shagging?"

Summer choked back her shock and resisted the urge to slap Sirius on the shoulder. She recovered quickly though, smiling at her child. "It's a game that adults play, sweetie."

Isabelle nodded thoughtfully, "Will you teach it to me when I'm older?"

Sirius let out a bark-like laugh as Summer's jaw dropped. Luckily, Sirius saved Summer from having to answer, as it was his entire fault, after all. "C'mon, love, let's go see if Aunt Carmen has any chocolate chip cookies for you." He set down the small child and she took off in a run for the kitchen. Normally, Summer would protest snacks before dinner, but she was willing to let it slide this time if it meant ending the previous conversation.

Once the child was out of sight, Summer did push against Sirius' shoulder lightly. "You're going to corrupt my child yet, Black," she said, shaking her head.

"All part of being the fun uncle, dear," he told her before being summoned by the toddler. "I'm coming, Belle," he called before heading off in the same direction.

"Shall we?" Kevin asked, extending his arm.

Summer nodded and the two took off towards the kitchen. Carmen, who had sworn she would never step foot in the kitchen, was standing over the stove. After James' parents had passed, she had offered to take over the Sunday dinners. It was a huge shock to everyone that she had actually found she liked being domestic. Unfortunately, with the group's hectic lives, it had turned into a monthly event instead of a weekly one. Isabelle and Sirius had taken a seat at the table where Isabelle was happily chewing on a cookie and telling Sirius about her day. Carmen immediately abandoned her cooking and turned to Summer, embracing her in a hug.

"Sorry we are so late," Summer apologized.

Carmen shook her head, her dark curls bouncing. "Isabelle told me what happened," she said, a proud glint in her chocolate brown eyes.

Summer sighed. "You two are going to ruin my child," she joked.

"Nah, she'll be fine," Carmen insisted. Her hands dropped to Summer's belly. "And how's my little Mason."

Summer shook her head, laughing. "I told you, Car, I am not naming my child after a jar. Can you imagine how much he will be teased?"

Carmen shrugged, unabashed, as a voice interrupted the conversation. "Have you still not decided on a name?"

Everyone in the room turned to see a heavily pregnant woman walk into the room, a man with messy jet black hair following closely behind. Lily's vibrant red hair was flowing down her back. She was dressed in a pale blue sundress. Pregnancy suited her very well. She was absolutely glowing. She was due any day, and it showed. With each day, she grew happier at the anticipation of her son, Harry.

Summer let out a small sigh, "Jonathan wants to name him after himself, naturally, and I want to name him Ryder. It's a very strong name. So we are still butting heads on the name, but eventually I'll make him see things my way. I'm quite in love with the name Ryder Jonathan."

Everyone greeted the new couple and bit back their laughter, mainly out of fear, as the two heavily pregnant women tried hugging but found themselves quite unsuccessful as their bellies got in the way. Once they managed a side hug, James tugged on Lily's arm. "C'mon, dear, why don't you sit down?"

Lily's emerald green eyes threw a glare at her husband. "I'm pregnant, not dying, James," she growled slightly.

"Please, just humor me, honey," he insisted. Lily rolled her eyes but didn't protest any more as she allowed James to lead her to a seat next to Sirius and Isabelle. She crossed her arms over her considerable pregnancy breasts, huffing.

"I threw my shoe in the toilet," Isabelle announced once again to James and Lily.

"Good girl!" James approved, patting her head.

Summer rolled her eyes. "I think I'm just going to let you all deal with her when she gets expelled from Hogwarts from one prank or another."

James laughed as Sirius stood from his chair, embracing his best friend in a guy hug. "They won't expel her, Sum," James insisted. "At the most she'll get detention. Sirius and I lived in detention and look how well we turned out."

"That's a comforting thought," said a voice. Remus Lupin walked into the large kitchen. Once again, the room was filled with greetings and hugs.

Lily tried to push herself to her feet to hug Remus but James' hand on her shoulder halted her slow progress. She glared at him as Remus made his way over to her, bending to embrace her. "Where's Faith and Dean?" he asked.

"Running late, as usual," Carmen answered. "No doubt, it's Faith holding them up."

"I resent that," Faith said, stepping into the room, holding a pumpkin seat, a diaper bag draped over her other arm. Dean followed behind her, his hand on her back. "You try getting a six month old ready."

Dean chuckled lightly. "We were walking out of the door three separate times before Faith remembered something she had forgotten." Faith set down the baby carrier as she turned to shoot her husband a look.

"I didn't see you trying to help, dear."

"You insisted you had it under control," he answered easily.

"Oh, right," Faith said, shrugging.

"How's Hope?" Isabelle asked, standing over the small seat. Ironically enough, it had been Dean who had suggested the name Hope, not Faith. He had stated that Faith and Hope were the only two things he needed in his life. It had taken his wife a while to come around to the name, thinking it too cliché but she herself couldn't decide on a name and finally caved. Before Faith could answer the little girl's question, she was looking up at her mother. "Can I hold her, Mummy?"

"Sweetie, I don't think that's—"

Faith interrupted. "It's fine, Summer."

Summer hesitated slightly. "Okay, but you have to sit down in the den," she answered finally, picking the baby up out of her seat. Light brown eyes opened to greet the woman. Hope had her father's eyes, something Faith thanked the Gods for every day.

"The rest of you go have a seat in the den as well," Carmen instructed. "Dinner's not quite done." Nobody protested, as they rarely did when Carmen gave them a demand, and followed Summer and Isabelle into the sitting room.

Isabelle immediately hopped onto the love seat, bouncing slightly with excitement. Summer carefully placed baby Hope into her daughter's waiting arms. "Be careful of her head," Summer instructed. The baby was almost as big as the small girl. Summer nervously sat next to her daughter, keeping an eye on her and the baby.

"I know, Mummy," Isabelle said, rolling her eyes slightly.

Summer giggled at the movement. "You've been hanging out with Aunt Carmen too much." The little girl didn't hear her though; she was much too absorbed in watching the baby in her arms coo. Summer glanced down at her daughter proudly.

Light conversation about the Order and their jobs filled the room for fifteen minutes or so until Carmen announced that dinner was ready. Everyone made their way back into the kitchen. Hope had fallen asleep in Isabelle's arms and Faith carefully picked her up, placing her back in her carriage when they reached the kitchen. Everyone commented on how wonderful Carmen's cooking was and the conversations flowed easily around the table as it always did with this particular group. After dinner, everyone began helping Carmen clean up, except for Lily who pouted as James insisted she stay seated. Once the table was cleared of dinner plates and everyone had gathered back around the table for tea, Carmen cleared her throat lightly.

"Everyone," she said, gaining the attention of the room. "Tonight's dinner is a little different from all the others. I have special announcement to make."

"Oh, Merlin, please tell me you're not pregnant too," Sirius joked, earning a glare from Summer, Faith and Lily.

"Oh Gods no," Carmen said, letting out a nervous laugh. "I'm not quite ready for that yet," she added as Kevin gave her an odd look. Her smile returned quickly as she remembered her actual news. She stood from her seat and bent on one knee in front of Kevin. He gave her a confused look but suddenly beamed, as did everyone else in the room. "I wanted to do this in front of you all," she began. "You are the most important people in my life, with one of you meaning more to me than the rest."

"Aww, Carmen, I never knew you felt that way," Sirius joked. "I love you too."

Everyone laughed and Carmen shook her head, smiling. "Not you, Sirius, you dolt." She turned her attention back to Kevin. "Kevin, we have been together for six years, and it's not been an easy time, mainly because I'm too damn stubborn for my own good sometimes, but you held in there with me. Three years ago, you gave me a ring and I made a promise to marry you when I was ready. Well, that day has finally come. I want to become Mrs. Kevin Echols," she announced, pulling out a box. She opened it to reveal a beautiful sapphire ring. Sapphire was Kevin's birthstone. Carmen had been inspired by Kevin's gift of her promise ring with her own birthstone, ruby. She handed him the box, removing her old ring. She held his eyes with her own. "Will you marry me, Kevin?" she asked, holding out her hand.

"Of course, I'll marry you, Carmen," he exclaimed, pushing the ring onto her finger and pulling her up to him for a kiss. The kiss lasted a little longer than it probably should have and Summer coughed slightly.

"There are children in the room, you two," she said as Isabelle giggled beside her.

Carmen and Kevin pulled away slightly, passion flaming in their eyes. Many things had changed for Carmen since she graduated Hogwarts, but loving sex wasn't one of them. Remus raised his wine glass.

"A toast," he said, "to Carmen and Kevin."

"To Carmen and Kevin," everyone recited, raising their own cups.

OooOooO

"Thanks for having us," Summer said. Sirius stood next to her, a sleeping Isabelle in his arms.

Everyone was gathered around the door, saying their goodbyes and thanking and congratulating Carmen and Kevin.

"It was no problem," Carmen said. "We'll have to figure out when we can all get together next month."

"Oh!" Lily said, clutching her stomach. James immediately glanced at her, putting his hand on her back. Everyone else had also turned their attention to the redhead. She was leaning forward slightly, grimacing. Before anyone could say anything, there was a splash as her water broke and spilled out onto the floor. She looked up, her eyes wide. "The baby's coming."

"We need to get her to a bed," Faith said. She was training to become a Healer.

"Down the hall," Carmen instructed. "She can use the guest bedroom."

"I should get going," Summer said, reaching to take Isabelle from Sirius' arms.

"You all are more than welcome to stay," Carmen said, "You can just wait in the den."

"I need to get Isabelle home to bed," Summer insisted, though it was evident that she didn't want to leave her friend.

"You can put her in mine and Kevin's bed," Carmen offered. Summer shook her head and tried to take Isabelle from Sirius' arms.

"I can carry her," he said.

"Sirius, go be with Lily and James. Harry is your Godson after all," she insisted. Sirius hesitantly handed her the sleeping child.

"Sirius, go get me a wet rag," Faith instructed as he walked into the room. The man dutifully did as he was told. He grimaced as she saw Lily laying in the bed, sweat across her forehead and her face contorted into pain. She was gripping James' hand as if her life depended on it.

OooOooO

A few hours later, Baby Harry still hadn't arrived and everyone minus Lily, James and Faith were gathered in the den. Remus, Kevin, and Carmen were talking quietly in the corner. Summer was lying against Sirius while he ran his fingers through her hair. He glanced up as Faith walked into the room.

"Sirius, Lily's about to have the baby. They told me that they want you in there." She laughed slightly. "Well, James said he wants you in here and Lily argued before agreeing."

Sirius nodded, laying Summer down on the couch before following Faith into the room. He stopped outside the door as he heard Lily scream. He had been there when Summer had given birth to Isabelle, but that scream was still something that could make his skin crawl. Faith opened the door and the two walked in.

Lily's knees were bent up and she had a sheet draped over her. Tears were streaming down her face and James was leaned in close to her, whispering to her.

"James Potter, if you don't stop whispering in my ear, I swear this is the only child you will ever have."

Sirius was amused and terrified at the same time. Lily giving birth was even scarier than pregnant hormonal Lily. "Sirius, go stand by Lily's head," Faith instructed as she positioned herself by Lily's feet, lifting the sheet. "Oops." Faith said. The blonde was notorious for being clumsy, though she had gotten a lot better in the past few years and was actually quite graceful when it came to Healing.

"What the _fuck _is oops, Faith?" Lily demanded.

Her best friend lifted her head from between her legs, a smile playing at her lips. "Just playing."

Lily sighed, leaning her head against the pillow.

Sirius chuckled slightly at Faith's joke as Lily let out another blood curdling scream. He saw James wince in pain. He looked so helpless. His wife was in so much pain and there was nothing he could do but stand there and hold her hand, and even that wasn't helping much.

"Okay, Lily," Faith instructed, as her best friend's breathing evened out a bit and her body relaxed. "When the next contraction comes, I need you to push."

Lily nodded, shifting her body slightly and squaring her shoulders. A look of determination that Sirius had never seen filled her emerald green eyes. She let out another scream.

"Push, Lily! Push!" Faith instructed over her screams.

Lily squeezed her eyes shut and looked like she was concentrating hard. "Good girl, Lily! Good girl! I see the head," Faith said, ecstatic.

Sirius got a smile on his face as he started walking towards Lily's feet. "What are you—Sirius, don't you look at my wife's vagina!" James yelled.

"I just wanna see the head," Sirius replied innocently. He took one look and blanched. "Bloody hell, that's disgusting!"

"Thanks, Sirius," Lily breathed as the contraction slowed down.

"I'm sorry, Lils, but Merlin." He glanced up at James, looking traumatized. "Whatever you do, mate, _don't _look down there!"

"That's what you get for thinking you're sly," James said, glaring at him.

"Another one's coming," Lily huffed, bracing herself and tightening her grip on James' hand.

"Just remember, breathe and push," Faith instructed, "This next part is going to be the hardest as it's the shoulders."

Lily pushed with everything she had in her. She just wanted this to be over. She wanted to meet her son. She barely heard the words of encouragement that the others were giving her. She leaned forward, focusing all of her energy on getting the baby out of her. The sound of screaming filled the room but it wasn't her own. It was a baby crying. She flopped back against the pillow, tears streaming down her face.

"You did it," James told her. "You are so brave and so wonderful, and you did it, Lily!" he said, pressing a kiss to her sweat covered forehead.

Faith made quick work of cleaning the baby up and wrapping him in a blanket. "Do you want him, James?" she asked, holding out the baby. "Lily's got to pass the afterbirth now and then she's all done."

James nodded, taking the bundle from Faith. He held him down for Lily to see. "Hello, Harry," she said, stroking his cheek.

OooOooO

Everyone was gathered around the room, greeting Harry and complimenting James and Lily. Lily had Baby Harry bundled up in her arms as James stood next to them, looking down lovingly at his family.

Faith, who was standing next to Sirius, saw Sirius' mouth perk up. He opened his mouth when he felt a hand over his parted lips. Faith stood on her tippy toes. "If you ruin this moment with one of your smart arse replies, I swear I will castrate you," she threatened.

Sirius immediately closed his mouth and nodded his head. Everyone left the room, letting the new family be alone.

"Welcome to the world, Harry James Potter," Lily said, smiling down lovingly at her sleeping son. She scooted over on the bed so James could join her. He wrapped his arms around his wife.

"You were amazing. Thank so much for this gift, Lily."

Lily smiled up at him. "Well, you had a little to do with it, too," she told him, resting her head against his chest. "I love you, James."

James pressed a kiss to his wife's forehead. "I love you, Lily Potter."


End file.
